Tsitsipas Had To Earn His Vienna Semifinal Berth, It Wasn’t A Given

Stefanos Tsitsipas
Stefanos Tsitsipas (photo: e-motion/Bildagentur Zolles KG/Martin Steiger)

VIENNA/WASHINGTON, October 27, 2023 (by Michael Dickens)

Stefanos Tsitsipas reached his 46th career tour-level semifinal and sixth of the season at the Erste Bank Open in Vienna, Austria on Friday afternoon. But he had to earn his last-four berth; it wasn’t a given.

Tsitsipas improved to 27-6 against players outside the Top 50 this season – and won his seventh straight at that plateau – with his 7-6 (4), 7-5 victory over No. 77 Borna Gojo. The 25-year-old, bleached blond-haired Croatian wild card, who owns a 100-74 win-loss record on the ATP Challenger Tour (including 19-9 in 2023), was appearing in his first ATP Tour quarterfinal and seeking the biggest win of his career.

The victory by Tsitsipas, achieved in an hour and 51 minutes, moved the World No. 7 from Greece to within two wins of his second title of the season and first since Los Cabos in August.

Tsitsipas, who is currently sixth in the Pepperstone ATP Live Race To Turin standings, struck 26 winners and outpointed Gojo 84-76 en route to advancing against top-seeded Daniil Medvedev. In four previous Vienna appearances, Tsitsipas had never advanced beyond the second round.

“It feels great,” Tsitsipas said in his post-match interview inside Wiener Stadthalle. “I kept fighting and didn’t lose faith. In the tie-break, what a great way to end it by fighting and giving so much on the court. I felt it was a matter of keeping the ball deep and attacking when the ball was short.”

Around the Erste Bank Open

• Defending champion and top seed Daniil Medvedev went the distance for the second consecutive day and match to beat his close friend and fellow Russian and eight seed Karen Khachanov, 6-3, 3-6, 6-3, to advance to Saturday’s semifinals of the ATP 500 indoor hard-court event against No. 4 seed Stefanos Tsitsipas of Greece.

The World No. 3 Medvedev moved to within two victories of his first successful title defense on the ATP Tour. Previously, Medvedev has 20 won tour-level singles titles in his career without ever winning a single tournament more than once.

Medvedev, 27, matched his personal-best season record of 63 wins, which he achieved in 2021, and matched World No. 2 Carlos Alvarez of Spain for most tour-level win this season. Medvedev is 63-14, while Alvarez, who will return to action next week at the Rolex Paris Masters, is 63-9.

“I hope I can get one more, you never know,” Medvedev said in describing his achievement. “Tennis is a strong sport and we have strong opponents. So hopefully I can get one more win at least or maybe more. I have had an amazing season. … But it’s not finished yet, so I want to try to finish it even stronger.”

• In a quarterfinal battle of Top-10 stars and former Vienna champions meeting for the eighth time at tour-level, World No. 5 and 2020 champ Andrey Rublev of Russia powered his way past World No. 10 and 2021 champ Alexander Zverev of Germany, 6-1, 6-7 (5), 6-3, in two hours and 29 minutes, in back of 24 winners. Rublev saved all six break points he faced from the fifth-seeded Zverev to beat him for the third straight time this season.

Rublev, who secured his place at the Nitto ATP Finals on Thursday for the fourth consecutive year by reaching the quarterfinals in Vienna, reached his seventh ATP Tour semifinal, where he is undefeated. He also equaled his personal-best 53rd win this season.

“It was a super tough match,” Rublev said in his post-match interview. “I am lucky I played great points in the first set and to get an early break. That gave me a lot of confidence, because when you are one set up it is easier to play. Then in the second set he was serving much better. I had one chance to break him and I was unlucky. Then classic tie-break and he played well.

“In the third set I was able to start well and get an early break. Then a couple of break points and the last game was dramatic but I think I played well. Aggressive on those points and finishing at the net.”

• On Saturday afternoon, Rublev will face World No. 4 and second seed Jannik Sinner of Italy, who eliminated No. 7 seed Frances Tiafoe of the United States, 6-3, 6-4, in an hour and 19 minutes. Sinner’s victory assures the semifinals will be comprised of the top four seeds for first time in Vienna since 1994.

Sinner struck 18 winners and made just seven unforced errors against Tiafoe to reach his 17th tour-level hard court semifinal and seventh of the season. He won 82 percent of his first-serve points and saved all three break points he faced from the 14th-ranked American, who dropped to 3-16 lifetime against Top-5 players.

• No. 2 seeds Rajeev Ram of the United States and Joe Salisbury of Great Britain advanced to the semifinal round with a 6-3, 7-6 (7) win over wild cards Romain Arneodo of Monaco and Tristan-Samuel Weissborn of Austria. Ram and Salisbury will play No. 3 seeds Jean-Julien Rojer of the Netherlands and Marcelo Arevalo-Gonzalez of El Salvador in Saturday’s semifinal round.

Friday’s Erste Bank Open results

Saturday’s Erste Bank Open order of play

By the numbers

This marks the first time since 2009 that seven of the top eight seeds reached the quarterfinals at the Erste Bank Open. … The top four seeds have advanced to the semifinals of Erste Bank Open for the first time since the 1994 edition (No. 1 seed Goran Ivanisevic, No. 2 Michael Stich, No. 3 Andre Agassi, and No. 4 Thomas Muster).

“Quotable …”

“My eyes are towards the Nitto ATP Finals. I’ve played there a few times; it’s a great tournament and I’m leaving my last breath out there on the court to earn a spot in Turin. I feel like with that kind of intensity and that kind of commitment I put into the game, there’s no reason for me not to believe that I can [qualify].”

– Stefanos Tsitsipas of Greece, during his post-match interview on Thursday, after defeating Tomas Machac to reach the quarterfinals.

 

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