GSTAAD, July 23, 2016
Feliciano López and Robin Haase will meet in Sunday’s final of the J. Safra Sarasin Swiss Open in Gstaad.
López had to fight hard to reach his first final in the Bernese Oberland in 10 years. The 34-year-old Spaniard fought past Dustin Brown 4-6, 6-3, 6-3. López fired nine aces and won 78% of his first service points to seal victory in one hour and 30 minutes.
“Dustin is a difficult player to play. He plays tricky shots, serves very good and has very good hands when he comes to the net. It was a tough match for me to play, but I think overall I had a great performance,” said López, who finished runner-up to Richard Gasquet in 2006.
“It’s a long time since my last final here. I have great memories and it’s definitely a great feeling to be in the final here because it means I can still be competitive after 10 years.”
In a rain-interrupted second semi-final Robin Haase won two tie-breaks to overcome eighth seed Paul-Henri Mathieu. The 29-year-old Dutch sent down 13 aces, winning 94 of the total 174 points played to advance in one hour and 43 minutes. Haase lost the 2013 title match in Gstaad to Mikhail Youzhny.
Yes! 👍💪👊 Made it to the final tomorrow! Thx everyone for the great support! https://t.co/jKoYe0KHUX
— Robin Haase (@robin_haase) 23. Juli 2016
He will face López for the fifth time, leading 3-1 in head to head records. Their last tour meeting took place in Estoril 2015. Haase emerged victorious in straight sets.
