RENNES/STARNBERG, September 17, 2022
Hugo Gaston cruised past fellow Frenchman Benoit Paire 6-3, 6-1 on Friday to reach the semi-finals of the Open Blot Rennes. The top seed of the €67,960 ATP Challenger Tour hard-court event saved the only break point he faced and capitalized on four of his own 10 break-point chances to advance in 58 minutes.
“I’m very happy with the match, it’s my best match for a long time,” said Gaston. “I was solid from start to finish, served well, returned well. I felt good in all areas. Now it is to continue on this path. I know that I can play even better. There will be a very good match coming up tomorrow.”
The World No. 85, a four-time champion on the ITF World Tennis Tour and bidding for his maiden Challenger crown in Brittany this week, will next take on Dominic Thiem. The Austrian wild card entry overcame a slow start to outlast Adrian Andreev of Bulgaria 3-6, 6-3, 6-2 in almost two hours of play.
Gojowczyk leads bottom half of the draw
In the bottom half of the draw, Peter Gojowczyk battled past sixth-seeded Frenchman Gregoire Barrere 7-6(2), 4-6, 7-5. The No. 2 seed from Germany fired 12 aces and won 75 per cent of his first-service points to succeed in one hour and 57 minutes.
Hand up if you’re through to the semifinals 🙋♂️
🇩🇪 Peter Gojowczyk downs Gregoire Barrere 7-6(2), 4-6, 7-5 to reach the @OpenBlotRennes final four
📸: Nicolas Averty | #ATPChallenger pic.twitter.com/pmDqZGioni
— ATP Challenger Tour (@ATPChallenger) September 16, 2022
“He was playing very well from the start,” said Gojowczyk, who has reached his fourth semi-final in the past two years, all of the appearances came on French soil. “I felt good, I lost track a bit at one point and it came back. We fought on all points. I’m happy to have won. A semi-final was a long time ago. I had some physical problems. I lost confidence, but it feels good here in Rennes, the court is magnificent. The public is great, they support the French but it’s fair play.”
Up next for the World No. 172 will be fourth favourite Ugo Humbert of France, who edged past No. 8 seed Gijs Brouwer from the Netherlands 6-4, 7-6(5). The encounter lasted one hour and 44 minutes.
