The quarterfinals of the St. Petersburg Open took place on Friday with all the favourites battling through. There were no surprises as the four highest remaining seeds all advance with relative ease, setting up a series of blockbusters in the semifinals tomorrow. Here’s what happened on day five in St. Petersburg.
Results
After barely surviving his opening match, Tomas Berdych was far stronger in his quarterfinal clash with Paolo Lorenzi. The big hitting Czech was untroubled in booking his spot in the quarterfinals with a 6-4, 6-3 victory. The first set was tight, with neither player getting very many looks at breaking their opponents serve. Berdych would save a break point at 4-4 before turning the tables on his opponent in the next game by breaking Lorenzi to take the opening set. In the second, it was an early break that sealed the deal for Berdych, as he raced ahead 3-0 and never looked back, not facing a single break point in the deciding set to advance.
Fourth seed Roberto Bautista Agut mounted a furious comeback in his quarterfinal match with 2015 runner-up Joao Sousa, coming back from a set down to oust the eighth seed 4-6, 6-1, 6-2. Bautista Agut seemed to have the upper hand in the opening set as he broke Sousa for a 3-1 lead, only for the Portuguese to break right back and win five of the next six games to wrap up the opening set. In the second set, the Spaniard once again broke for a 3-1 and this time did not have a lapse, reeling off five games in a row of his own from 1-1 to level the match at a set apiece. The fourth seed carried the momentum into the decider, as he broke in the first game and held for an immediate 2-0 lead. That would be enough, as he added a late break to wrap up the victory in an hour and 42 minutes.
A day after scoring a major upset, Mikhail Youzhny was unable to recapture the magic as he was blown out by fifth seed Alexander Zverev in straight sets. The German young gun was in control from the off, breaking in the third game to take the early lead. He saved a pair of break points in the fifth game before breaking Youzhny for a second time in the seventh game, eventually taking the opener 6-2. The Russian veteran had dropped the opening set of his second round match 6-2 as well, but this time was unable to turn things around. After Youzhny held for 2-1, Zverev took full control, winning five straight games and breaking twice to win the second set 6-2 and advance to the semifinals.
The final match of the day saw top seed Stan Wawrinka weather an early storm from Viktor Troicki before racing into the semifinal with a straight-sets victory. Check out the full recap here.
The semifinals will take place tomorrow with Wawrinka taking on Bautista Agut, while Berdych will play Zverev.