Vesely Saves 4 M.P. To Reach Pune Final

For the second straight day, Jiri Vesely saved match points in a final-set tie-break to keep his title hopes alive at the Tata Open Maharashtra.

After surviving two match points during his quarter-final victory against Ilya Ivashka on Friday, the unseeded Czech saved four match points to outlast Ricardas Berankis 6-7(8), 7-6(3), 7-6(7) on Saturday.

The World No. 107, who trailed 3/6 in the final-set tie-break, landed 28 aces and won six of the final seven points to reach his first ATP Tour final in almost five years after three hours and two minutes. Vesely will attempt to lift his second trophy in his third tour-level championship match, following 2015 final appearances at the ASB Classic (d. Mannarino) and Bucharest (l. to Garcia-Lopez).

The 6’6” left-hander levels his ATP Head2Head series against Berankis at 1-1. At last year’s US Open, Berankis defeated Vesely in five sets to reach the second round.

Vesely will meet a first-time ATP Tour finalist for the title. In the second semi-final, sixth seed James Duckworth of Australia will face eighth-seeded Belarusian Egor Gerasimov.

from Tennis - ATP World Tour https://ift.tt/2H8G8qC