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Schwartzman to meet Verdasco in Rio Open final

February 25, 2018
Diego Schwartzman of Argentina celebrates during his match against Nicolas Jarry of Chile at the Rio Open Saturday. — Reuters
Diego Schwartzman of Argentina celebrates during his match against Nicolas Jarry of Chile at the Rio Open Saturday. — Reuters

RIO DE JANEIRO — Argentine Diego Schwartzman beat Nicolas Jarry 7-5, 6-2 Saturday to reach the final of the Rio Open and set up a showdown with Fernando Verdasco after the Spaniard beat Fabio Fognini 6-1, 7-5.

The semifinal results mean the tournament will have a new winner and give either Schwartzman or Verdasco their first ATP tour title in more than a year.

Verdasco, at 34 the oldest of the four semi-finalists, broke Fognini in the first game of the match and then romped through the first set.

Italian Fognini, who knocked out home favourite Thomaz Bellucci in the first round, improved in the second set but could not stop Verdasco from breaking in the decisive 12th game to wrap up the match.

World number 23 Schwartzman was too good for Chilean Jarry, who was aiming to reach his first ATP final.

Tiafoe-Gojowczyk final

US wildcard Frances Tiafoe will be gunning for his first ATP title Sunday when he takes on Germany’s Peter Gojowczyk in the final at Delray Beach, Florida.

The 20-year-old Tiafoe, ranked 91st in the world, defeated 46th-ranked Canadian Denis Shapovalov 7-5, 6-4 to reach his first final.

Gojowczyk defeated American Steve Johnson 7-6 (7/3), 6-3.

Tiafoe’s semifinal victory came hours after he finished off eighth-seeded South Korean Chung Hyeon 5-7, 6-4, 6-4 in a quarterfinal halted by rain the night before.

Tiafoe led that match 5-3 in the third when play was halted, and the players were kept until after midnight before organizers decided to postpone the finish until Saturday.

“The stress level was pretty high today,” admitted Tiafoe, who had three chances to finish his quarterfinal Friday night and finally dispatched Chung on his eighth match point on Saturday.

Tiafoe took control against Shapovalov with a late break in the first set, closing out the frame with an ace.

He won the first three games of the second before Shapovalov converted his only break chance of the match to make it 3-1.

Still up a break, Tiafoe steadied and closed out the contest in 71 minutes, finishing it out confidently with a love game.

He and 64th-ranked Gojowczyk will be meeting for the first time in an ATP Tour match, although they have split a pair of non-tour contests.

The German is seeking a second tour title after capturing his first at Metz last year. To do so he’ll have to get past a fourth straight American opponent having beaten sixth-seeded John Isner in the second round and wildcard Reilly Opelka in the quarter-finals before taking out Johnson.

He saved the only break point he faced against Johnson, and said a more aggressive style that he has been cultivating is paying off as he continues to rebuild in the wake of foot surgery in 2014.

Khachanov outplays Berdych

Russian Karen Khachanov outplayed Czech Tomas Berdych 6-3, 6-2 to reach the Marseille Open final Saturday, setting up a title showdown with Frenchman Lucas Pouille.

World No. 47 Khachanov was impeccable on serve, saving the meagre three break points Berdych had throughout the duel.

The 21-year-old has now beaten former world number four Berdych in both their meetings having also prevailed at last year’s French Open.

Pouille reached his second final of the season after a 6-3, 7-6(6) defeat of Belarusian qualifier Ilya Ivashka. — Agencies


February 25, 2018
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