Andria: Dudi Sela was forced to pull double-duty in Italy, as his quarter-final with Luca Vanni was held over from Friday. The Israeli did manage to edge the Italian 4-6, 6-3, 6-4 before his semi-final with Michael Berrer. This time he was the victim of a comeback, as Berrer won 3-6, 7-6, 6-3. It ensures a first Challenger final of the year for the German in the last event of the year. His opponent in the final will be Ivan Dodig as he beat Egor Gerasimov 6-4 7-5.
Final(pick in bold): Both men rely on strong serves but I feel that Dodig has more firepower than Berrer.
Toyota: The final for the last Challenger event in Japan this year has been set, after one close semi-final, and one that was decided in straight sets. Yoshihto Nishioka ensured that there was to be at least one home player in the final, as he defeated Konstantin Kravchuck 6-2, 7-6. Nishioka broke twice without reply in the first set, dropping just five points on serve. Nishioka broke twice again in the second set, and though Kravchuck was able to retrieve one break, the Russian could not bring the other back, and the young Japanese player moved into the final.
His opponent will be Alexander Kudryavtsev, who continued his excellent form. The unseeded Russian won a tight encounter with fifth seed Yuichi Sugita, also from Japan, 7-6, 6-7, 6-3. Kudryavtsev adds Sugita to the list of seeds he has upset this year, as he also defeated third seed James Duckworth in the first round.
Final (pick in bold): Nishioka is a rising star, if not a potential top player then certainly someone we will likely see break into the Top 100 in the relatively near future. Kudryavtsev’s defeat of two seeds cannot be underestimated but both Duckworth and Sugita have been in underwhelming form.
