ATP Montpellier, quarterfinals: Gasquet had to fight three sets to defeat De Schepper, Paire only needed to play one game to eliminate an injured Brown, Tsonga eases past Medvedev and Zverev wins against Chardy.
Third seed Richard Gasquet struggled more than what could’ve been foreseen against fellow Frenchman Kenny De Schepper, winning 6-2, 5-7, 6-4. The first set saw Gasquet dominating, due to De Schepper’s big number of unforced errors and some attacks to the net not very well prepared. In the second set De Schepper became more focused, but it was Gasquet, who had the first chance to end the set and the match. Gasquet gained a 5-4 lead to go and serve for the match, but was broken twice in a row as a decisive set loomed. In the decider Gasquet went immediately up to 2-0, but again De Schepper refused to surrender and recovers to 2-2. In the end, in the ninth game of the third set, De Schepper got broken again, and this time Gasquet is able to end the match by catching the third set 6-4.
Gasquet, who is the defending champion, will play compatriot Benoit Paire in the next round. Paire was elevated to the semifinals after Germany’s Dustin Brown withdrew due to a back injury after one game. Both Gasquet and Paire are coached by Thierry Champion.
Jo-Wilfried Tsonga eased past Daniil Medvedev 6-2, 7-5. In the first set the French player from the score of 2-2 won four consecutive games and secured the first set, outplaying his opponent with his stunning forehand. The second set was more balanced, but the young Russian, when down 5-6, succumbed to the pressure of serving to stay in the match and was broken to 30, giving Tsonga the win.
Awaiting Tsonga in the semifinals will be Rising star Alexander Zverev, who overcame a blip to defeat defeat Jeremy Chardy 6-4, 4-6, 6-2. Not many long rallies were seen in the match with both players relying mostly on their serve and short rallies were prevailing over long ones because of this. In the first set, no break of serve occurred until the 5-4 in advantage of Zverev, when the Frenchman loses his serve and so the set. The second set saw a reverse in fortunes with the German player experiencing a mental black-out on his own serve, with Chardy breaking and maintaining the advantage until the end of the set. Despite the mid-match setback, Zverev managed to regain his dominance towards the closing stages of the match against his tiring opponent.
#Zverev reaches the SF at @OpenSuddeFrance with 3-set win over #Chardy! Saturday he faces #Tsonga for a spot in the final. #NextGenATP pic.twitter.com/l9WaKzqvmH
— Next Gen ATP Finals (@nextgenfinals) February 10, 2017
