Denis Istomin reached the Tashkent Semi-Finals with a 6-3 6-3 victory over Uladzimir Ignatik, while Poland’s Kamil Majchrzak continues to rise as he also reached the last four in Kazkhstan with a 6-3 6-0 win over Mohamed Safwat 6-3 6-0.
The Uzbekistani, who won the title in Chengdu on the main tour, is once again continuing his good run of form as he broke Ignatik three times on his way to victory. Istomin who likes the hard courts as he showed in Australia earlier this year is really showing his consistency at the age of 31. The World number 51 had a poor post Australian Open but has since gathered a lot of momentum and has won 10 of his last 11 matches.
He will now play Guillermo Garcia-Lopez in his first Challenger Semi-Final of the season. The Spaniard beat World number 209 by the exact same score that Istomin won today. It will be the Spaniard’s fifth Challenger Semi-Final after converting three of nine break point opportunities, which will need to improve if he wants to be in the final in Tashkent. The current head to head between the two players is 4-1 to Garcia-Lopez, with the last meeting in Rotterdam two years ago.
In the bottom half of the draw Poland’s Kamil Majchrzak’s dream run continues with a 6-3 6-0 victory over Egypt’s Mohamed Safwat. The Pole has had a struggling surface as he has failed to make a consistent run on the challenger tour especially on his beloved clay. However on the hard courts of Tashkent, the 21 year old has proved himself and has made the last four of a challenger for the first time this season. An impressive four breaks of serve was enough to seal his place in the Semi-Finals.
He will now play Marek Jaloviec tomorrow, who beat France’s Gleb Sakharov 6-4 5-7 7-5 in a battle that lasted just under two and a half hours. It was a crazy match which involved 13 breaks of serve which resulted in Jaloviec breaking on more occasions to edge his way into the last four. This will be the first meeting between Majchrzak and Jaloviec.
