The ninth time was the charm for Dustin Brown.
Previously 0-8 lifetime in ATP quarterfinals, Brown beat Ruben Bemelmans 6-3, 6-3 to reach the semifinals of the Open Sud de France on Friday night. Coming off a second-round upset of Gilles Simon, Brown exuded confidence from start to finish against Bemelmans. The German’s serve never clicked, but that did not adversely affect his all-court game. He was broken only once while earning four scalps of the Bemelman’s serve.
“I’m just very happy to finally make it to a semi-final, after so many tries,” Brown commented. “I’ve played lots of times against Reuben and lost in a tight one last time. Basically I tried to play aggressively like the past couple of days and I’m happy it worked out.”
There was always going to be at least one German in the Montpellier semis heading into Friday action. That’s because Alexander Zverev went up against compatriot Michael Berrer earlier in the day, and it did not disappoint. The 18-year-old Zverev outlasted his 35-year-old opponent 6-7(2), 6-2, 7-5 in two hours and 43 minutes.
Zverev also boasts victories this week over Luca Vanni (saved one match point) and Marin Cilic.
“It wasn’t easy to use all the chances because of the great play he did,” Zverev assessed. “You don’t have those days (like against Cilic) all the time, but even today I got the win so I’m happy with that.”
Highlights:
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final: all-French, all-German, or neither?