Istanbul Open Final Recap

Taro Daniel def. Malek Jaziri 7-6 6-4

Every player begins a match with a certain game plan in mind. Whether it is the right one or not is unpredictable at that moment, and players are well aware of that fact. There are nuances to this presumption of course, which shield it from falling into the cliché category. For example, it is possible that the plan turns out to be wrong, which leads to a change. It is also possible that it’s the right plan, but the opponent has an answer for it, and a modification becomes necessary. Those are just two possible nuances out of many that may emerge once the match begins.

There is also the case where a plan depends on the combined use of several different shots, and although it is a sound plan, the player gets caught in the web of implementing it too frequently. This leads to the opponent deciphering the plan and its components. It allows him to understand it early and adjust to it before it gets the best of him. In return, the player responsible of executing the plan finds himself unable to tactically reframe the components of his plan, because he does not feel comfortable recalibrating his shots on the spot. He turns into a repeat offender, too apprehensive to change gears as the set progresses and each point becomes paramount.

I believe that I just summarized what happened, in my opinion, to Jaziri in the first set.

Malek Jaziri – Photo: Tenis Dunyasi, @tenisdunyasi on Twitter

He adopted a plan that aimed at derailing Daniel, one that you would call “junk tennis” if you were old school. It consisted of changing the ball’s pace and spin often, throwing in drop shots and loopers, and occasionally producing a flat forehand with the hope of catching Taro off-guard. Throwing Daniel off his rhythm was more important than taking risks and hitting winners.

There is nothing wrong with this type of plan and Jaziri has the ingredients necessary – finesse and variety – to execute it well. The problem would appear if the plan did not work and he had to turn aggressive, because that would represent a 180-degree turn-around from his initial plan. It’s not that Jaziri is not a skilled attacker, but to switch from a passive plan like the one with which he began the match to an aggressive one is not an easy task. Nevertheless, Malek would still have to go for the adjustment, simply because he would not have any other choice if his plan A were to fail.

But he did not, because his plan kept on “teasing” him, you see.

It would work just enough to where Jaziri kept on using it, believing that if he was close to winning the first set. It would work here and there, yet not enough to give him a commanding lead. It would appear friendly to him as it would help him earn chances to put the set away, only to take it away at the last second. It would offer him just enough to keep him attached to it, but not carrying him to the desired conclusion.

It may be best to illustrate my meaning with concrete examples from the match.

First one took place in the second game, on Daniel’s serve. Up 0-15, Jaziri sliced a few backhands and got a look at a short ball from Daniel at one point in the rally. Instead of moving into the court and attacking with a slice approach shot – Jaziri definitely has that shot in his arsenal – his feet stayed close to the baseline and he reached forward with his upper body to simply send back another mid-pace slice. You could tell from his footwork that he never even considered taking charge. He missed the slice deep and lost the point. He should have undoubtedly attacked on that short ball. Typical case of a player so preoccupied with executing the shots of his initial game plan that he fails to recognize a logical opportunity to do otherwise.

Let’s move forward to the 30-30 point of that same game. The next two points are emblematic examples of what I attempted to explain above how his plan would “tease” him.

At 30-30, the players engaged in a long rally. Jaziri, determined to keep the ball low and not give Daniel any pace to work with, hit one sizzling slice after another, making Daniel bend his knees to strike the ball at below-the-knee level. He hit four of them in a total of six shots, the other two being flat and hard forehands. In other words, it was the perfect illustration of how his plan could work. Daniel could not handle the final slice and missed the backhand wide, his feet off-balance. So yes, the plan worked, and Jaziri now had a break point. It only made sense that Jaziri would look to develop the same pattern again to win the break point.

He did. He got Daniel engaged in another backhand-to-backhand rally. On his third backhand, he was on his front foot and could have easily aligned for an acceleration with his two-hander – why not, after slicing a bunch of them? – but he did not. Instead, he decided to slice it back conservatively, although he was positioned inside the court. He missed it wide. There went an opportunity to take command early in the set, simply because other options were being ignored by Jaziri, even when the circumstances demanded that they be used. The plan teased Malek with the 30-30 point, but stopped him from reaching the desired result in the next one.

I thought for a moment, in the sixth game, that Jaziri began to realize the trap he was falling into and would look to adjust. He hit a drop shot for the umpteenth time on the 15-15 point. Daniel read it of course, having faced it at least half a dozen times in five games, and won the point. Down 15-30, Jaziri got aggressive and held serve, playing three attack-oriented points in the process. It made me think that he was coming to terms with the necessity of not completely abandoning aggressive tactics.

In the meantime, the plan was working in the sense that Daniel would occasionally commit errors, like the one mentioned above at the 30-30 point of the second game, or the game point for Daniel at 3-3, 40-15. Taro struggled to respond to a low, short, off-pace slice backhand by Jaziri and missed an ill-advised backhand drop-shot attempt in the net. Then, on the deuce point, one of the longest rallies of the match took place, ending with an error by Daniel who overhit a forehand. Twice in the same game, Jaziri’s plan to derail Daniel’s rhythm worked and provided him with another break-point opportunity.

Yet, guess what took place on that break point? Having been rewarded by Daniel’s errors in the above two points, Malek once again passed on chances where it made sense to get aggressive and stubbornly stuck to his plan. In that break point, Daniel hit two shots to Jaziri’s backhand that bounced well inside the service line. Jaziri reached forward on both and sent them back passively with his backhand slice, instead of running around and striking a forehand, or simply putting the heat on Daniel with a deep slice approach shot. He missed the second slice in the net, a clear unforced error. Just like that, for the second time in the set, Jaziri got his foot in the door thanks to his plan but could not enter because he got too attached to it. Daniel held serve and went up 4-3.

Jaziri did finally break to go up 5-4, largely thanks to a routine forehand error by Daniel at deuce, on another slice by Jaziri. That error led to the break point won by Jaziri. It was another case of his plan working again in his favor.

Let me reiterate; the plan itself was not the problem. It was Jaziri’s over-attachment to it that played a role in the ultimate result. His refusal to take charge on occasions that presented themselves, where going a little outside the box of his plan would have made sense, allowed Daniel to stay tight in the scoreboard and contend for the first set. Jaziri remained too loyal to his plan at moments where logic dictated him to do otherwise. This is not an unusual occurrence by the way. It happens often that a player goes one time too many to the well that may appear to work for him and become too predictable too soon. The key is to recognize the shifting dynamic and intervene in time, so it does not start working against you.

At 5-4, 40-30, the Tunisian earned a set point on his serve. He found himself in the middle of the court with a chance to rip the forehand. He did it this time, stretching Daniel to the backhand corner. Jaziri thought about following that shot to the net, and even took a step forward with that intention, but changed his mind. Daniel’s shot floated back to the middle of the court again and Jaziri unleashed another forehand that sailed wide. Daniel broke back a few points later and the match was relaunched at 5-5.

I would argue that, not approaching on that first forehand on set point was another consequence of playing too passively for too long. Had Jaziri been attacking the net on similar shots in the previous nine games, he would not have hesitated to do the same on that set point. Instead of finishing the set on a makeable volley on Daniel’s floater, Jaziri had to produce a put-away forehand from the baseline and missed it. He should have still hit a winner on that second forehand no doubt, so that part is on Malek. But not taking his chances at the net on the first one had to do with his mental disposition since the match began.

After Jaziri saved a set point himself at 5-6, thanks to a big first serve that Daniel framed on the return and hit out, the two players got to the tiebreaker. Daniel got in front early, starting with a 31-shot rally that ended on a thunderous forehand winner down-the-line. He never relinquished the lead, winning the tiebreaker 7-4.

Jaziri did get aggressive in the tiebreaker but it came too late. And like I said in the beginning of this piece, you cannot just switch from passive to aggressive in the blink of an eye. Your mental state, your strokes, your stance on the court, all need to be modified and it does not smoothly happen from one point to the next. Although he did try to take the initiative during rallies, Jaziri finished the tiebreaker with three unforced errors in the last four points. The second one was an easy forehand sitter missed in the net, that Jaziri should usually make in his sleep, and the third was an overhead smacked in the net on set point.

Jaziri continued the tactical turnaround and attacked frequently in the second set, dropping his initial game plan. He committed 15 errors in the process partly because, as I have pointed out earlier, it takes time to overhaul one’s game plan within a match. He also had to do that against an opponent whose confidence skyrocketed after winning the first set. In short, Jaziri’s adjustment was appropriate, but its timing was too late.

However, the fact that he approached the net 18 times in the second set and won 16 of those points sends significant messages. Had he taken charge on the few chances he had in the important points of the first set – the ones I discussed in detail above – he may have been the one holding his first ATP title now. If he was that successful (16/18) at the net in the second set, against a confident Daniel, imagine how many more points he would have won in the first, if he took advantage of those short balls. And that was when Daniel was still committing errors, prior to elevating his level in the second set.

When Daniel, who had never reached the semifinal round of an ATP event, won the tiebreaker, he found himself a set away from his first title. The 114th-ranked Japanese player about whom I have barely talked so far – apologies to Taro fans – kept his poise like a veteran and marched on. Throughout the match, his footwork remained phenomenal despite having put in long hours to win his previous rounds. More impressive was his disposition, as he never looked desperate or negative, sending a signal to Jaziri that he is not going away unless Jaziri can produce some top-quality tennis.

Much to Jaziri’s dismay, Daniel made only four unforced errors and two double faults in the second set. Two of those six came on match points, completely understandable considering how close he was to a career-changing moment. In fact, let me bring up the first one, as part of the larger discussion on how this week in Istanbul has transformed Daniel.

Taro Daniel – Photo: Tenis Dunyasi, @tenisdunyasi on Twitter

If you have watched Daniel several times, you probably know that his best weapon is the down-the-line backhand acceleration. He earns most of his winners from that shot. That is precisely the one he missed on the first match point at 5-3, one that he would otherwise make nine out of ten times. You could almost see his arm turn rigid, surely the result of nerves. It was not even close. The ball dropped midway in the doubles alley.

Daniel would get the same chance in his fourth and final match point. He did not let the earlier error prevent him from trying again. He never hesitated as he aligned his body. He trusted his “money” shot and struck it with confidence. This time, it landed smack in the deuce corner by the baseline, leaving Jaziri staring helplessly from the middle of the court. Never mind that Daniel missed that shot on the first match point. Never mind that he double-faulted on the third one less than a minute ago. His mental resolve never eroded, and for that, he got rewarded. The sequence was a microcosm of his mental growth this week.

Wild fact: Daniel was in Estoril – another ATP even that also takes place this week – preparing to play qualifying rounds there one week ago. When he found out he could enter main draw in Istanbul, he made a last-minute decision to hop in a plane and play in Istanbul. Life is a game of choices, they say, don’t they?

This ends the 2018 Istanbul Open coverage. Thanks for reading!

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Istanbul Open: Semifinals Recap

Taro Daniel def. Jérémy Chardy 6-3 4-6 6-4

Jérémy Chardy entered the day as the favorite to win the match and the only semifinalist out of the four remaining players to have won an ATP event in his career (Stuttgart 2009). His game-plan is well known to everyone. He relies on his biggest weapon – his forehand – to control points and hit winners. He is also one of the most frequent users of the 1-2 punch thanks to a fairly effective first serve that can set the next shot up for him.

That is exactly how he started the match, winning four straight points to hold serve, including a couple of forehand winners in the process.

Taro Daniel, for his part, was going to need to use his athleticism to get balls back in play and generate power in return, in order to not only counter-punch Chardy’s powerful forehands, but also to produce winners winners of his own. In other words, he would look to negate Chardy’s plan, deal the deck from the bottom so to speak, and put the Frenchman in the more undesired position of having to chase balls.

Daniel managed to hold serve in the second game, saving a break point with a drop shot to bring Chardy to the net and pass him in the ensuing forehand.

The first turning point of the set came at 2-2, on Chardy’s serve. It was a terrific game filled with high-octane baseline rallies, one that showed Daniel going toe-to-toe with his opponent from the baseline. The last two points of the game demonstrated that he was gaining confidence and beginning to impose his game on his opponent. At deuce, there was a long rally with both players using the full parameters of the court and running each other around. Chardy was the first to break down when he missed a backhand slice in the net. In the next point Daniel put a stop to another contested rally by striking a terrific cross-court-backhand winner.

When Daniel held to confirm the break and led 4-2, it was clear that Chardy’s task had just become a lot more tedious. Daniel was beating him at his own game, turning rallies upside down, putting the Frenchman on the defensive, and hitting some spectacular winners, especially with his down-the-line backhand accelerations.

Chardy could also hope that Daniel descended from the clouds. It looked like that may happen when Daniel went up 0-40 at first on Chardy’s serve at 4-2, and committed three errors to squander those opportunities. Chardy eventually held to stay within distance.

But, Taro remained resolved, holding serve with a well-disguised drop-shot winner to safeguard his break advantage. Chardy, for his part, was struggling to regain any type of control during rallies or figuring out how to put the ball away against this pesky opponent who seemed to run everything down and forcing him to produce several big forehands in succession.

Daniel won the first set 6-3, breaking Chardy’s serve one more time when the Frenchman missed a routine backhand wide at deuce and followed it up with a low forehand volley error on set point.

Taro Daniel – Photo: Tenis Dunyasi, @tenisdunyasi on Twitter

As the second set began, Chardy was not only battling Daniel but also a sense of uncertainty. If Taro continued his flawless rhythm of the last twenty minutes, what could Jérémy do to overcome the challenge and stage a comeback?

The first eight games of the second set gave mixed answers to that question.

But one thing was certain, Chardy had yet to recover his top form. He was still committing the occasional error, and Daniel was not helping matters as he continued to produce winners, including some great drop shots at the most unexpected moments.

The Frenchman would not give up though. He pressed on with his attacking game whenever he had the chance. That is how he held his serve at 2-3, with a deep approach shot and an overhead winner. That is also how he saved a break point at 3-4, when he moved in to catch a floater in the air, putting it away with forehand swing-volley winner. Determined to keep fighting, he pumped his fist as he held serve to get to 4-4. You could sense that his belief was reemerging as the second set progressed.

He pumped his fist a second time when he saved a game point on Daniel’s serve at 4-4. Daniel got another chance to hold serve and that is when Chardy hit three sensational return winners in a row to break his opponent’s serve and go up 5-4. It was a remarkable show of poise by the experienced Frenchman. Daniel had not lowered his level of play, so it appeared that Chardy had essentially decided to take matters into his own hands at that point by going for broke. It worked to perfection and resembled that moment when two people are fighting over the remote control and one finally rips it away from the other’s hands.

Chardy sealed the set in the next game with a forehand cross-court winner and carried the match to a third and final set.

The seesaw battle continued with each player holding serve until the fifth game. Chardy seemed to finally break through when, on his third break-point opportunity, Daniel got apprehensive and failed to take charge from a position inside the court. It allowed Chardy to recover and finish the point a few shots later, with a forehand inside-out winner.

Right when you thought Chardy was taking charge of the match for the first time, Daniel broke right back, equalizing at 3-3. The pattern was repeated again in the next two games and the players found themselves at 4-4, probably yearning for a time in the past when they could hold serves.

Chardy had a golden chance to continue the pattern when he had a shoulder-level forehand sitter from the middle of the court – he could not have asked for a better opportunity – and missed the put-away attempt by an inch on the sideline. Two more break-point opportunities would pass by Chardy. Daniel finally held serve, despite having committed two double faults in the game – his sixth and seventh ones of the match.

That turned out to be the final turning point of the match. Chardy must have come out mentally deflated from not having capitalized on those chances, because he quickly committed three unforced errors to go down 0-40 and give Daniel three match-point opportunities. On the second one, Chardy sent another routine forehand in the net, and just like that, Daniel won.

On the one hand, it was a great moment for the 114th-ranked Japanese player, carrying him to the final of an ATP event for the first time in his career. On the other hand, it was a deeply disappointing one for Chardy. The last game was an unusually abrupt ending for such a tight match. Daniel thoroughly deserved the victory at the end of the day, but one wishes it did not end on a game that featured for unforced errors. The last three minutes reflected inaccurately the kind of tennis played during the previous two and a half hours.

Daniel could finally enjoy a couple of hours that he had never experienced in his life, which would consist of sitting back and watching a semifinal match in an ATP event, just to see which player he would face in the finals on Sunday.

Malek Jaziri def. Laslo Djere 6-3 6-2

I have no intention to take away any credit from Malek Jaziri’s well-deserved and thoroughly-earned march to the finals of the Istanbul Open, but it appeared that Djere’s marathon (3 hours 13 minutes) victory over Paolo Lorenzi yesterday in the quarterfinal played a role in the outcome of today’s match. The Serbian’s footwork appeared lethargic in the early games of the match.

For example, serving at 2-3, his legs just did not seem to bend enough to hit the backhand slice on the 15-0 point, and it sailed deep. In the same game, up 40-15 with two chances to get back to 3-3, he seemed a step late as he jumped awkwardly on a defensive backhand and hit it out on the first one. On the second, he did not move enough out of the way as he struck a run-around forehand that got stuck in the net. A bit later in the same game, on the second deuce point, his legs remained static as he erred on a backhand that landed wide. Jaziri ended up winning the game, earning the definitive break of the first set.

Djere, to his credit, did fight hard to get the break back, especially when his back was against the wall at 3-5. He squandered three break-point opportunities in that game, second of which must have been devastating. It followed the longest rally of the match thus far, with Djere finally taking charge with a great approach shot and getting the chance to put a high backhand volley away. He sailed it wide. Six points later, Jaziri nailed a big serve and sealed the first set 6-3 in his favor.

Djere had another opportunity to sink his teeth back in the match when he led 1-0 in the second set and 0-30 on Jaziri’s serve, but The Tunisian went on a tear with a plethora of powerful forehands to climb back out of the hole.

Perhaps, that was a sign of things to come because Jaziri continued to rely on his forehands – with success – to produce more winners and opportunities at the net. The examples are too many to cite but it seemed that Jaziri, using his forehand, was able to push Djere around or come up with a big strike from a defensive position on most key points. His first serve came to his rescue as well, as he struck a big one that either did not come back in the court or set him up for the winner on the next shot (see the 3-1 game).

Malek Jaziri – Photo: Tenis Dunyasi, @tenisdunyasi on Twitter

Djere gave him an assist with a forehand unforced error in the net, allowing Jaziri to grab the decisive lead in the fourth game of the second set. Jaziri added to that lead by breaking Djere a second time in the seventh game to serve for the match at 5-2. Djere’s body language was one of resignation by that time, surely the result of endless miles accumulated by his legs over the last four days, in three matches that included the longest one in the four-year history of the tournament, two final sets, and five tiebreakers.

Let’s reiterate, nevertheless, that Jaziri has so far delighted tennis fans in Istanbul (he has more local fans than any other non-Turkish player in the tournament) with dazzling shot production and the kind of determination that has occasionally lacked in his game in the past. He is a streaky player and that has not always worked in his favor in the past. He has, by contrast, showed exceptional consistency in this tournament. Outside of a couple of badly played games in the first set against Jiri Vesely in the quarterfinals, he has avoided the extreme cycles within a match of which he had occasionally been a victim in his career.

Ready for Sunday’s final?

Tomorrow’s final promises to be intense and entertaining. Both Daniel and Jaziri are in pursuit of their first ATP titles and their entrance to the record books forever. That is, at the end of the day, one of the most meaningful accomplishments in the career of a tennis player. Almost every professional player will tell you that they never forget their first title or that they are dreaming of winning one. That is the moment where they finally engrave their name forever in the history of the game, regardless of what happens after that point in their career. In short, Jaziri and Daniel will vie for that which can never be taken away from them in the future. I, for one, cannot wait to see history unfold.

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Istanbul Open: Quarterfinals Recap (First two matches)

Taro Daniel def. Rogerio Dutra Silva 1-6 6-1 6-4

Players often claim that playing in a crowded stadium motivates them to play better. Well, the ones at the Istanbul Open this week do not have that luxury. Matches are being played in front of empty stands, and I mean, literally. Discussing the reasons for the tragic state of (non-)attendance at the Istanbul Open would require dozens of pages and an afternoon panel, but that topic would go beyond the intended scope of this match-recap post. For those interested, I have extensively written about it in my past Istanbul Open articles on this site (see Istanbul Open 2015 and 2017 related ones).

My point in mentioning the empty stands is rather related to the two players that walked on the court to play the first quarterfinal match of the day in this year’s edition of the tournament. Their names are Rogerio Dutra Silva and Taro Daniel. The former is on his fourteenth year on the tour and the latter, on his eight. They are both ranked outside the top 100 – 104 and 114 respectively – and they have never gotten to the semifinal round of an ATP event. Much of their success has come on the Challenger tour. With a career opportunity presented to them as they stepped on the court earlier today, I would guess that neither needed the stands filled for extra motivation.

Dutra Silva began the match as most people who have seen him play many times would have expected him to begin. Get engaged in tedious, long baseline rallies, move around the backhand as much as possible to hit forehands, and keep the ball deep and high with plenty of topspin. In simpler terms, get a lot of balls back and outlast the opponent. It’s a simple formula, made famous by the Swedish players during the 1980s (except the running around the backhand). It also happens to be the only one that Dutra Silva has regularly utilized – and has at his disposition, to be frank – in his 14 years as a professional. The Brazilian is your emblematic clay-court grinder.

Daniel, for his part, is a baseliner too, but can generate more pace from the baseline and on his first serve. You may remember him from his upset win over an out-of-form Novak Djokovic in Indian Wells this year or from his four-set loss to Rafael Nadal at the US Open last year. Although a baseliner himself, he can flatten out and hit winners on both wings, but he can also be erratic. One thing he certainly did not need to do was to get into long rallies against the veteran Dutra Silva from behind the baseline.

Yet, that is precisely what occurred in the first set. A pattern, very convenient to the 34-year-old Brazilian, began to emerge. Daniel got involved in mid-pace rallies from behind the baseline and perhaps waited “too patiently” to get that one opportunity to strike the “higher” percentage winner. As a result, Dutra Silva got to play plenty of above-8-shot rallies and had time to calibrate his strokes. Daniel grew frustrated and committed more errors, eventually bringin the first set to an abrupt close, 6-1 in favor of Dutra Silva.

It was clear that Daniel needed to get away from his opponent’s strengths and take risks. He did, it worked, and the match turned around. It was that simple, that straight-forward.

Taro did what any player should do against a consistent opponent who likes to use his forehands to control the baseline. Since Dutra Silva was parked on the ad corner to allow room for his forehands, Daniel began accelerating down-the-line with his backhand to catch him off-guard. This allowed Taro to create space and hit winners to the open court, or at least, force Dutra Silva to hit more backhands, his weaker side by far. Once Daniel got ahead by a break early in the second, he became confident and began producing some spectacular winners. The second set also ended 6-1, this time in Daniel’s favor.

Taro Daniel – Photo: Tenis Dunyasi, @tenisdunyasi on Twitter

Third set started with another reversal, as Daniel turned erratic once again and Dutra Silva raced to a 4-0 lead. He looked poised to grab the 5-0 lead when he hit a fine drop-volley winner to get the 40-30 lead. Then, arrived the most critical three-point sequence of the match.

Dutra Silva committed, out of nowhere, a routine forehand cross-court error from the baseline at 40-30. At deuce, he hit a backhand that landed on the service line. Daniel stepped in and approached the net on a hard shot to Dutra Silva’s forehand. The Brazilian missed the makeable passing shot wide. In the ensuing break point, Dutra Silva approached the net and missed a backhand volley, wide again. Ironically, all three errors landed almost on the same spot, wide in the deuce-side doubles alley.

It would only get worse for Dutra Silva. Leading 4-2, and serving at 30-30, he had a sitter inside the baseline. He lined up his forehand and nailed it. The ball landed almost exactly to the same wide spot in the doubles alley as the three errors previously noted. He lost the next point and his service game. The reset button was hit after Daniel easily held serve in the next game and the scoreboard showed 4-4 in the final set.

In that ninth game, Dutra Silva was clearly not content with just rallying. He started off with a swing-volley winner at the net and did not let up. He recorded two more forehand winners, but this tactical shift also led to errors. It was obviously not his A plan but Daniel was feeling pumped at that juncture in the match and Dutra Silva probably felt like he needed to take more charge in the rallies. His backhand down-the-line error on game point at 40-30 proved fatal. Daniel won the next two points to break Rogerio’s serve one more time and served for the match at 5-4.

Dutra Silva appeared mentally deflated during the game change and as he walked out to play the tenth game. Daniel quickly raced out to a 40-0 lead. He put Dutra Silva away on his second match point, completing an impressive come back in the final set, winning the last six games in succession.

Kudos to Daniel for the 1-6 6-1 6-4 win, but you also cannot help but feel bad for Dutra Silva. At 34 years of age, he may have seen his last genuine shot at reaching the semifinal stage of an ATP event. He played a younger, less-experienced, lower-ranked opponent on his favorite surface and had a substantial lead to put the match in the books. He had his foot in the door but could not enter. The good news for him, the clay-court season has only begun. As for Daniel, his dream week carries on.

Jérémy Chardy def. Thomas Fabbiano 6-2 6-2

There is not much to write about this particular match. Chardy was the more accomplished player and the clear favorite to advance to the semifinal. The scenario played out as expected, with zero deviation.

Jérémy Chardy – Photo: Tenis Dunyasi, @tenisdunyasi on Twitter

Something extraordinary needed to happen for Fabbiano to have a chance. Any glimmer of hope for that possibility quickly eroded when the 100th-ranked Italian committed two unforced errors in a row to lose his first service game of the match. Both were on routine forehands struck from the middle of the court, the first one landing in the net, the second sailing wide.

Following the break, the encounter turned into a routine Chardy match, meaning the Frenchman dictated rallies with his forehand, occasionally collecting free points with his first serve. Fabbiano resorting to slice backhands when he was chasing balls further helped Chardy’s cause as it gave him time to run around the backhand to unload his forehands. He finished the set by breaking his opponent’s serve one more time.

The first set’s pattern was almost identically repeated in the second, with Chardy earning the break on the fourth game. Fabbiano could never manage to find a solution to Chardy’s dominance from the baseline. The 87th-ranked Frenchman recorded the 6-2 6-2 win in one hour and seventeen minutes. He should once again be the clear favorite when he faces Daniel tomorrow in the semifinals.

Unfortunately, I will be unable to recap the last two quarterfinal matches of today.
Until tomorrow, for the semifinals.

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