MOST, May 30, 2015
Four of the eight top-seeds went head to head on semi-finals Saturday at the 16th edition of the ITF Future tournament in Most.
In the opening match last remaining Czech in the draw, Jan Satral defeated second seed Uladzimir Ignatik, who hasn’t dropped a set this week, winning 6-2, 6-4. The fourth-seeded local, who already claimed one ITF title this season in Sharm-el-Sheik in March, was aggressive right from the beginning. Satral searched his way to the net as often as possible and also dictated most of the baseline rallies. The 24-year-old converted his first match point after 68 minutes.
Uladzimir Ignatik lost in the semi-finals in Most
“From the second round on, I started to get more confidence this week. That’s why I won this match today as well. Uladzimir is normally better. If he wins the opening set, I will lose for sure. But I managed to play very well,” Satral told afterwards.
“I tried to play aggressively. That’s the best part of my game. I do not feel pretty comfortable standing like three metres behind the baseline. In the second set, however, he was aggressive and I was more in the defence but fortunately I took the match,” the world number 340 said, who also captured the doubles title in Most together with Roman Jebavy on Friday.
“Playing doubles helps me to improve my net game. It’s better than only to practice particular shots. I don’t understand when someone doesn’t want to play doubles,” Satral explained and is looking forward to meeting a good friend in Sunday’s final.
Jan Satral also wants to capture the singles title in Most
Fifth seed Adrian Sikora beat the tournament’s number eight Jan Choinski, winning 6-3, 7-6. The 26-year-old Slovakian was very solid from the baseline and capitalized on his break point opportunities. The 18-year-old German, who travels the tour most of the time with his father, only gained one break in the entire match, but wasn’t able to close the second set out in the tenth game. Sikora eventually took the tie-break 7-3 and sealed victory in two hours and ten minutes.
Jan Choinski reached his second semi-final of the season
“It was very tough, especially in the second set when I was down 3-5. But it was only one break. I stayed focused and played well in the deciding moments,” the world number 342 said and is looking forward to take on his practice partner from Prague.
“When I win in practice, I often lose the match and vice versa,” Sikora told with a smile. “But all of our matches were pretty close and we will see what will happen tomorrow.”
Both players will meet for the third time on the tour, 1-1 in head to head records. The Slovakian emerged victorious on home soil in 2011 and the Czech won at home in 2012. In statistical Terms, this means advantage Satral ….
Adrian Sikora booked a place for his first final of the season
