In the ATP hardcourt tournament held in Los Cabos, Mexico, Jordan Thompson, the Australian eighth seed, managed to overcome the determined resistance of top-seeded Alexander Zverev in a three-hour, 40-minute marathon that ended in the early hours of Saturday morning.
Thompson took eight match points to beat the German and secure his place in the tournament final.
The match was a grueling affair, with both players putting on an impressive display of skill and endurance.
Thompson will now be facing off against Casper Ruud in the final on Saturday evening.
The 29-year-old Thompson will be seeking his first ATP tour singles title, and he will need to be at his best to beat the in-form Ruud.
In the evening’s opening semi-final, Ruud rode a strong start to a 6-4, 7-6 (7/4) victory over defending champion Stefanos Tsitsipas.
Throughout the match, Ruud was in control, and he sealed victory in just under two hours.
READ ALSO: https://thecrux.org.ng/nigerias-chukwuebuka-sets-new-shotput-record-in-africa/
In the previous round, Thompson had saved three match points as he came back from 6-0, 3-0 down against Alex Michelsen.
His resilience was on full display as he managed to come back from the brink of defeat to secure his place in the semi-finals.
After the match against Zverev, Thompson said, “It was over three and a half hours. It was just a great match, and I just competed until the end. I really don’t know what to say. I’m pretty tired.”
Against Zverev, Thompson had five match points on his opponent’s serve at 6-5 in the third set, but the German saved them all.
Thompson broke away in the tiebreaker with six straight points.
Zverev saved another match point, but Thompson served out the second.
Ruud, on the other hand, was fortunate to save a few set points in the second set of his match against Tsitsipas.
“It was a really close match, all in all, especially the second set,” Ruud said.
“I was fortunate to save a few set points there and hold him off. I was just a bit lucky,” added Ruud, who faced set points in each of his last two service games but raced to a 4-0 lead in the tiebreaker and polished things off after one hour and 49 minutes.
