Zverev, Cilic Advance To 's-Hertogenbosch SFs
World No. 7 Marin Cilic and No. 10-ranked Alexander Zverev both advanced to the Ricoh Open semi-finals on Friday.
Top-seeded Croatian Cilic recorded the 50th grass-court match win of his career when he knocked out Vasek Pospisil 6-3, 7-5 in 77 minutes. Cilic recovered from a 2-5 deficit in the second set to keep alive his hopes of reaching a third grass-court final.
“I feel better and better, obviously after each day I’m getting used to the grass,” Cilic told ATPWorldTour.com. “I felt today I played a little bit better than yesterday, despite the difficult gusty conditions. I felt I served well in critical situations and I managed to turn the break around in the second set.”
Cilic will now meet compatriot Ivo Karlovic, who advanced to his first ATP World Tour semi-final since October 2016. The giant third-seeded Croatian defeated qualifier Daniil Medvedev 6-4, 6-4 in 58 minutes, having hit seven aces and won 28 of his 32 first-service points.
“It was a really good match,” Karlovic told ATPWorldTour.com. “I was playing unbelievable, with some really good volleys. Overall I am happy with the performance.”
Karlovic has a 3-3 record in grass-court finals, including title triumphs at 2007-2008 Nottingham and the 2016 Dell Technologies Hall of Fame Open in Newport. He last reached a tour-level semi-final at the Erste Bank Open 500 in Vienna (l. to Tsonga).
Zverev, a 20-year-old #NextGenATP German, recorded a 56-minute victory over 35-year-old Julien Benneteau 6-0, 6-4. Zverev, who’d beaten another Frenchman Adrian Mannarino in a 54-minute second-round encounter, fired down 13 aces and lost just 10 of his service points against Benneteau, who won 11 points in the first set.
“You always have to stay focused, especially against a guy like Julien,” said Zverev. “You lose your serve once and it’s tough to get it back. I am happy to be through now. I grew up on clay courts, but the grass is so good these days that you can play your natural game and slide into strokes.”
Cilic captured the 2012 Aegon Championships crown (d. Nalbandian) and finished runner-up at The Queen’s Club the following year (l. to Murray), while Zverev reached last year’s Gerry Weber Open final (l. to F. Mayer).
Zverev next faces fourth seed Gilles Muller, who kept alive his chances of reaching the final for the second straight year when he recovered from a 1-3 deficit in the deciding set to beat eighth seed Aljaz Bedene 6-3, 3-6, 6-4 in one hour and 43 minutes. The World No. 28, who finished runner-up to Nicolas Mahut in the 2016 title match.
“Gilles will be another very tough match, as he likes grass a lot,” said Zverev. “But the way I’m playing, I look forward to it and hopefully I can keep playing the way I have.”
Source: http://www.atpworldtour.com/en/news/cilic-zverev-den-bosch-2017-friday
Top-seeded Croatian Cilic recorded the 50th grass-court match win of his career when he knocked out Vasek Pospisil 6-3, 7-5 in 77 minutes. Cilic recovered from a 2-5 deficit in the second set to keep alive his hopes of reaching a third grass-court final.
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| Alexander Zverev celebrates reaching the Ricoh Open semi-finals on Friday with a 56-minute victory over Julien Benneteau |
Cilic will now meet compatriot Ivo Karlovic, who advanced to his first ATP World Tour semi-final since October 2016. The giant third-seeded Croatian defeated qualifier Daniil Medvedev 6-4, 6-4 in 58 minutes, having hit seven aces and won 28 of his 32 first-service points.
“It was a really good match,” Karlovic told ATPWorldTour.com. “I was playing unbelievable, with some really good volleys. Overall I am happy with the performance.”
Karlovic has a 3-3 record in grass-court finals, including title triumphs at 2007-2008 Nottingham and the 2016 Dell Technologies Hall of Fame Open in Newport. He last reached a tour-level semi-final at the Erste Bank Open 500 in Vienna (l. to Tsonga).
Zverev, a 20-year-old #NextGenATP German, recorded a 56-minute victory over 35-year-old Julien Benneteau 6-0, 6-4. Zverev, who’d beaten another Frenchman Adrian Mannarino in a 54-minute second-round encounter, fired down 13 aces and lost just 10 of his service points against Benneteau, who won 11 points in the first set.
“You always have to stay focused, especially against a guy like Julien,” said Zverev. “You lose your serve once and it’s tough to get it back. I am happy to be through now. I grew up on clay courts, but the grass is so good these days that you can play your natural game and slide into strokes.”
Cilic captured the 2012 Aegon Championships crown (d. Nalbandian) and finished runner-up at The Queen’s Club the following year (l. to Murray), while Zverev reached last year’s Gerry Weber Open final (l. to F. Mayer).
Zverev next faces fourth seed Gilles Muller, who kept alive his chances of reaching the final for the second straight year when he recovered from a 1-3 deficit in the deciding set to beat eighth seed Aljaz Bedene 6-3, 3-6, 6-4 in one hour and 43 minutes. The World No. 28, who finished runner-up to Nicolas Mahut in the 2016 title match.
“Gilles will be another very tough match, as he likes grass a lot,” said Zverev. “But the way I’m playing, I look forward to it and hopefully I can keep playing the way I have.”
Source: http://www.atpworldtour.com/en/news/cilic-zverev-den-bosch-2017-friday
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