TENNIS – At the ATP 250 in Kitzbuhel, Dominic Thiem and David Goffin will play for the title. It’s the first ATP final for both players. In Washington Pospisil downed Tomas Berdych. Diego Sampaolo
ATP Kitzbuhel
Austrian rising star Dominic Thiem will face David Goffin in the ATP 250 Tournament at Kitzbuhel. Thiem will be looking to become the first Austrian player to win the home tournament since Thomas Muster in 1993.
Both Thiem and Goffin will play their first ever ATP final.
Thiem beat Argentina’s Juan Monaco (2007 champion in this tournament) with a double 6-3. Thiem hit six aces and won 82 percent of his service points.
Goffin recovered from a set down to edge qualifier Maximo Gonzales in three sets with 5-7 6-4 6-3 in two hours and 23 minutes. The Belgian recently won three ATP Challengers at Sheveningen, Poznan and Tampere and clinched ten consecutive matches.
Goffin defeated Thiem 6-4 6-2 in their only head-to-head match at the Queen’s last June
ATP Washington
Canadian Vasek Pospisil, last year’s semifinalist at the Montreal Master 1000, upset top-seed Tomas Berdych in straight sets with 6-2 6-4 in one hour and 21 minutes to reach the quarter finals at the Citi Open in Washington. Pospisil broke serve four times. Berdych went down 0-3 before Pospisil got the break in the final game of the first set. Berdych again dropped his serve in the final game of the second set. Pospisil, who scored two of his three top-10 wins against Berdych, saved three of his four break points. The Canadian will face Santiago Giraldo who swept aside Victor Estrella Burgos 6-2 6-0.
Number 2 seed Milos Raonic overcame Lleyton Hewitt 7-6 7-6 in one and 50 minutes. The Canadian star, who reached the semifinal at Wimbledon, hit 28 aces and won 72 percent of first serve points.
Raonic will take on twice NCAA singles champion Steve Johnson who rallied from a set down to edge Croatian giant Ivo Karlovic in three sets with 3-6 7-6 (7-4) 7-6 (9-7). Johnson, who beat John Isner in the previous round in a match which featured three tie-breaks, saved two match points in the tie-break of the third set. Karlovic hit 27 aces and did not face any break point chance.
Richard Gasquet advanced to quarter final after beating Tim Smyczek with 6-3 6-2 to set up an interesting quarter final match against Kei Nishikori who needed three sets to edge Lukas Lacko with 6-2 2-6 6-3.
South African Kevin Anderson eased past Malek Jaziri 6-3 6-4 to set up a quarter final against US Donald Young who overcame Denis Istomin in three sets with 6-3 3-6 6-3 in one hour and 40 minutes.
