FILE PHOTO: Tennis – China Open – Men’s Singles – Quarterfinals – National Tennis Center, Beijing, China – October 4, 2019. Britain’s Andy Murray in action against Dominic Thiem of Austria. REUTERS/Jason Lee/File Photo
October 20, 2019
Andy Murray’s comeback story continued Saturday as he rallied for a 3-6, 7-5, 6-2 victory over France’s Ugo Humbert to reach the finals of the European Open in Antwerp, Belgium.
The former world No. 1 and 45-time ATP Tour titlist, who returned to action in August after hip surgery, will face fourth-seeded Swiss Stan Wawrinka in the final.
Competing in his first semifinal since the 2017 French Open, Murray survived his second straight three-setter. The 32-year-old Scotsman took advantage of Humbert’s shaky serve in the deciding set, winning it on his opponent’s third double fault of the final game.
Murray has an 11-8 career edge against fellow three-time Grand Slam winner Wawrinka.
VTP Kremlin Cup
Seventh-seeded Adrian Mannarino of France reached his third ATP Tour final of the season with a 6-3, 6-4 victory against Italy’s Andreas Seppi in the semifinals in Moscow.
Mannarino’s opponent will be Russian No. 6 seed Andrey Rublev, a 7-5, 6-4 winner against No. 3 seed Marin Cilic of Croatia. It will be the first head-to-head meeting for Mannarino and Rublev.
Mannarino, who lost in the final here last year to Karen Khachanov, has not dropped a set this week. He didn’t face a break point against Seppi.
Intrum Stockholm Open
No. 4 seed Dennis Shapovalov advanced to his first career ATP Tour final with a 7-5, 6-2 triumph against Japan’s Yuichi Sugita.
The 20-year-old Canadian had been 0-7 in tour-level semifinals, but struck 11 aces, won 90 percent of his first-service points and converted four of his five break chances to break through in Sweden.
Shapovalov will face Serbian Filip Krajinovic, who is also seeking his first title. Krajinovic rallied past fifth-seeded Spaniard Pablo Carreno Busta 4-6, 6-3, 6-3 in the other semifinal. This will be the first meeting between Krajinovic and Shapovalov.
–Field Level Media
