Top seed David Ferrer kept his hopes of at least reaching the final of the ATP Malaysian Open alive with a straightforward win in the quarterfinals of the competition today.
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The opening set started with the longest game of the match.
And Dimitrov was punished for failing to convert four set points in the second as Becker battled to force a tie-break before reeling off five points in a row to secure victory.
The 20-year-old fired down 11 aces against the Croatian, the same player he defeated in the second round of the 2015 Australian Open in January, to win 7-6 (7-4), 7-6 (7-2) in 84 minutes.
“Honestly, I don’t have a point to prove”. Three of the four sets the pair have played have been decided in tie breaks. Kyrgios did well to erase it and hold his nerve for a 1-0 lead.
“I definitely enjoyed the match…me and Feliciano, we had a few laughs and the only thing you can do is to appreciate it when he makes shots like that”. Late in the breaker at 5-4, the 7th seed evened the score at 5-5 on the Spaniard’s serve and looked hopeful to take the set.
The 47th-ranked Sousa, fresh off reaching his third final of the season last week in St. Petersburg, was a 6-2, 6-2 victor over qualifier Michal Przysiezny.
“Experience is always a good thing to have but today I think the match could have gone either way”, he stated. “I needed to be aggressive and was happy that my volleys and serves worked out well”.
Second seed Feliciano Lopez booked a berth in the final by defeating Kyrgios 7-6 (7/2), 7-6 (7/5).
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Lopez will next meet eighth seed Vasek Pospisil who advanced to the next stage after beating Marcos Baghdatis from Cyprus 7-6 (7/2), 3-6, 6-3. However, it should be noted that the three times they have met on an indoor hard court, Lopez came out the victor.
