AMERICAN duo John Isner and Reilly Opelka have joined top three seeds, Daniil Medvedev and Stefanos Tsitsipas in the semi-finals of the 2021 National Bank Open. Only top seed Medvedev needed to fight through three sets, coming back from a set down against Polish seventh seed Hubert Hurkacz to post a 2-6 7-6 7-6 win in two hours and 16 minutes.

The Russian was disappointing in the opening set, but then ground out a victory against the plucky Pole, winning the second set tiebreaker 8-6 and the third set tiebreaker 7-5 in a match where both players had chances. Medvedev sent down 23 aces to Hurkacz’s nine, also saving seven of nine break points. Hurkacz could be considered unlucky in the match, winning a higher percentage of his service points (86 and 64 per cent to 79 and 51 per cent respectively) and not being broken at any stage.

“He had his chances and he was probably the better player for at least two sets for sure, but that’s tennis,” Medvedev said post-match. “We both have great serves and I managed to hit some aces when I needed to.

“It was definitely not easy. He was on top of me. “But to win matches like this gives you a huge boost of confidence. “It’s a pleasure to be standing here and giving interviews.”

Meanwhile Tsitsipas ended the run of Casper Ruud following the Norwegian’s three clay court trophies and final eight appearance in the hard court ATP 1000 event. The Greek third seed easily took care of Ruud 6-1 6-4 to advance through to the semi-finals to play Opelka. The match lasted an hour and 15 minutes, with Tsitsipas breaking three times and winning 86 and 67 per cent of his first and second serve points.

”It is very nice to see myself perform at this level,” Tsitsipas said post-match. “I was sticking close to the baseline and coming in, taking the ball early. It was my intention from the very beginning, and it worked perfectly.

“Playing against a guy like him, who gets every single ball back, is always very challenging. There is some sort of concentration levels you have to reach to perform to your best. These kinds of matches always teach me things that I can expose for next time.”

In other results, Opelka took care of 10th seeded Spaniard Roberto Bautista Agut 6-3 7-6, winning 7-1 in the second set tiebreaker to advance through to the semis, whilst compatriot Isner also needed a tiebreaker to win one of his sets against 11th seed Frenchman Gael Monfils. Isner won 7-5 6-4 to set up a huge clash with Medvedev, winning that first set tiebreaker, 7-5. He served 13 aces and broke once to be the difference in what was an even contest between the pair, though Monfils also produced 11 double faults to two.

“I didn’t fare too well in the ATP Cup [in 2020] in the only time I played him, so I’m going to have to change up some tactics. But I’m definitely playing better now than I was then,” Isner said of facing Medvedev. “He’s definitely going to do what he does. “He’s full of confidence. He’s going to stand on the fence, he’s going to make a lot of returns, he’s going to run. “He’s number two in the world for a reason. “I’m going to have to play well.”

NATIONAL BANK OPEN QUARTER FINALS RESULTS:

[1] Daniil Medvedev (RUS) defeated [7] Hubert Hurkacz (POL) 2-6 7-6 7-6
[3] Stefanos Tsitsipas (GRE) defeated [6] Casper Ruud (NOR) 6-1 6-4
Reilly Opelka (USA) defeated [10] Roberto Bautista Agut (ESP) 6-3 7-6
John Isner (USA) defeated [11] Gael Monfils (FRA) 7-6 6-4

Picture credit: ATP Tour