Spoiler:
Cecchinato to meet Bedene or Millman in Sunday's final
Six days ago, Italian Marco Cecchino suffered a straightforward defeat in the final round of qualifying in Budapest. On Saturday, the lucky loser advanced to his maiden ATP World Tour final.
Cecchinato, who was competing in his first tour-level semi-final Saturday at the Gazprom Hungarian Open, came from a set down to beat countryman Andreas Seppi 5-7, 7-6(4), 6-3 and earn a shot at his first title.
"It is very strange because I lost last week [in qualifying] and tomorrow I will play the final," reflected Cecchinato. "I am very happy."
The World No. 92, who was appearing in his first ATP World Tour semi-final, trailed by a set and 4/2 in the second-set tie-break, but won five of the next seven points to force a deciding set. From there, Cecchinato dropped just three points behind his first serve and secured a crucial break in the sixth game. The 25-year-old served out the match to love three games later to move into his first championship match.
"It was a tough match," said Cecchinato. "I know Andreas (Seppi) very well because we are friends, I have practised with him for so many years."
Seppi was bidding to reach his first ATP World Tour final since the 2015 Gerry Weber Open (l. to Federer), but fell in his second semi-final of the season. The Italian also lost to Roger Federer earlier this season at the ABN AMRO World Tennis Tournament.
As a result of Seppi's loss, the event is now guaranteed a first-time ATP World Tour titlist. Cecchinato will meet 2017 finalist Aljaz Bedene or Australia's John Millman in Sunday's final. The Italian trails Bedene in their FedEx ATP Head2Head series 0-1 and has never faced Millman in a tour-level match.
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Bedene and Millman were tied at 6-2, 6-7(3) when play was suspended due to darkness. Bedene, last year’s runner-up (l. to Pouille), broke serve on three occasions to take a one-set lead, before Millman levelled the match in the second-set tie-break after one hour and 47 minutes. The Slovenian will need to win his fourth consecutive three-set match this week if he is to reach his second tour-level final of the season (Buenos Aires). Millman, who also saw his quarter-final match split over two days, is aiming to reach his first ATP World Tour final.
Inglot/Skugor Survive
Dominic Inglot and Franko Skugor saved one match point to beat Marcin Matkowski and Nicholas Monroe 5-7, 6-3, 11-9. The British-Croatian duo was a point from defeat at 8/9 in the extended Match Tie-break before winning three consecutive points to book a spot in Sunday's final. Inglot and Skugor will face Matwe Middelkoop and Andres Molteni for the title.
Did You Know?
The all-Italian semi-final marked the first time that two Italian men had reached the semi-finals of an ATP World Tour event since the 2017 Plava Laguna Croatia Open Umag.
Six days ago, Italian Marco Cecchino suffered a straightforward defeat in the final round of qualifying in Budapest. On Saturday, the lucky loser advanced to his maiden ATP World Tour final.
Cecchinato, who was competing in his first tour-level semi-final Saturday at the Gazprom Hungarian Open, came from a set down to beat countryman Andreas Seppi 5-7, 7-6(4), 6-3 and earn a shot at his first title.
"It is very strange because I lost last week [in qualifying] and tomorrow I will play the final," reflected Cecchinato. "I am very happy."
The World No. 92, who was appearing in his first ATP World Tour semi-final, trailed by a set and 4/2 in the second-set tie-break, but won five of the next seven points to force a deciding set. From there, Cecchinato dropped just three points behind his first serve and secured a crucial break in the sixth game. The 25-year-old served out the match to love three games later to move into his first championship match.
"It was a tough match," said Cecchinato. "I know Andreas (Seppi) very well because we are friends, I have practised with him for so many years."
Seppi was bidding to reach his first ATP World Tour final since the 2015 Gerry Weber Open (l. to Federer), but fell in his second semi-final of the season. The Italian also lost to Roger Federer earlier this season at the ABN AMRO World Tennis Tournament.
As a result of Seppi's loss, the event is now guaranteed a first-time ATP World Tour titlist. Cecchinato will meet 2017 finalist Aljaz Bedene or Australia's John Millman in Sunday's final. The Italian trails Bedene in their FedEx ATP Head2Head series 0-1 and has never faced Millman in a tour-level match.
Watch Live
Bedene and Millman were tied at 6-2, 6-7(3) when play was suspended due to darkness. Bedene, last year’s runner-up (l. to Pouille), broke serve on three occasions to take a one-set lead, before Millman levelled the match in the second-set tie-break after one hour and 47 minutes. The Slovenian will need to win his fourth consecutive three-set match this week if he is to reach his second tour-level final of the season (Buenos Aires). Millman, who also saw his quarter-final match split over two days, is aiming to reach his first ATP World Tour final.
Inglot/Skugor Survive
Dominic Inglot and Franko Skugor saved one match point to beat Marcin Matkowski and Nicholas Monroe 5-7, 6-3, 11-9. The British-Croatian duo was a point from defeat at 8/9 in the extended Match Tie-break before winning three consecutive points to book a spot in Sunday's final. Inglot and Skugor will face Matwe Middelkoop and Andres Molteni for the title.
Did You Know?
The all-Italian semi-final marked the first time that two Italian men had reached the semi-finals of an ATP World Tour event since the 2017 Plava Laguna Croatia Open Umag.