Del Potro sets up semi-final date with Ferrer at Auckland Classic
JUAN MARTIN DEL POTRO kept his Australian Open preparations on track with a 7-6(4) 6-3 win over Russia’s Karen Khachanov in the Auckland Classic yesterday, setting up a semi-final meeting with David Ferrer.
Former US Open champion Del Potro fired down 11 aces and did not face a break point during the one hour, 33 minutes match.
The 29-year-old second seed, who won the tournament the last time he played in it in 2009, will now return to the top 10 in the ATP rankings on Monday for the first time since August 2014 after struggling with injuries over the past few years.
Waiting for Del Potro in the last four will be Spaniard Ferrer, who brushed aside ATP NextGen Finals champion Chung Hyeon of South Korea 6-3 6-2.
Ferrer is yet to drop a set in Auckland and has shown glimpses of his old form that saw him win the tournament in 2007, 2011, 2012 and 2013.
“I tried to play consistent and aggressive because with Chung, he plays with power, and it’s never easy,” Ferrer said in a court-side interview. “He has a really great future.”
Ferrer’s countryman Roberto Bautista Agut will play Dutchman Robin Haase in the other semi-final.
2016 champion Bautista Agut defeated Czech Jiri Vesely 7-6(1) 6-2 in the last eight, while Hasse beat Peter Gojowczyk of Germany 6-4 6-4.
Dominic Thiem’s preparations for the Australian Open suffered another setback yesterday when the world number five was forced to pull out of the Kooyong Classic exhibition tournament.
The Austrian spent four days in bed with a virus after pulling out of a tournament in Doha last week and, also suffering from jet lag, was thrashed 6-1 6-4 by Novak Djokovic in the Serbian’s return to action at Kooyong on Wednesday.
The 24-year-old, who reached the fourth round at Melbourne Park last year, said after the round-robin match that he felt he had recovered from the virus but yesterday pulled out of his tie against France’s Lucas Pouille.
Andy Murray and Kei Nishikori have already withdrawn from the Australian Open through injury and there have been doubts over the fitness of Rafa Nadal, Stan Wawrinka and Djokovic.
Former champion Heather Watson capitalised on a fast start to race away from Donna Vekic and set up a semi-final encounter against last year’s winner Elise Mertens at the Hobart International yesterday.
Watson needed to register two wins just to make the main draw, but the Briton staved off her Croatian opponent’s late charge to prevail 6-0 6-4 in the quarter-final contest.
The 2015 champion won the first 11 games as she homed in on a double-bagel (6-0 6-0) victory before the big-hitting Vekic finally established a foothold in the match.
Vekic reeled off four successive games and came within two points of levelling up the second set before Watson broke for a sixth time to seal the contest in a little more than an hour.
“She’s a big hitter, who can hit winners from pretty much anywhere,” 25-yearold Watson, who converted all but two of her eight break-point opportunities, told reporters.
“When that started to happen, the most important thing was not to panic. When you go that far up, it can feel a bit up and down when you lose the next four games, but I had to realise that I was still 5-4 up and playing well.”
Meanwhile, the repeat of last year’s title showdown failed to materialise after losing 2017 finalist Monica Niculescu of Romania pulled out with a neck injury, allowing Belgium’s Mertens to advance to the last four without hitting a ball.
Elsewhere, fifth seed Lesia Tsurenko ended Belarusian Aryna Sabalenka’s strong run with a 6-1 6-1 triumph to also secure a place in the last four.
The Ukrainian advances to meet Romania’s 29-year-old Mihaela Buzarnescu, who secured the last semi-final berth with a 7-6(5) 6-1 win over American Alison Riske. – Reuters