By Chris Oddo | Friday June 15, 2018
Bernard Tomic reached his first ATP semifinal in nearly two years with a win over Fernando Verdasco on Friday at 's-Hertogenbosch.
Photo Source: Libema Open
Bernard Tomic has booked his first ATP-level semifinal since June 2016 with a victory over Fernando Verdasco on Friday at ‘s-Hertogenbosch.
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The Aussie got past the Spaniard, 6-4, 7-6(3), for his third straight-sets win of the week, and set up an encounter with No.2-seeded Richard Gasquet on Saturday.
Tomic, ranked 181 in the world, needed to qualify for the event to play the main draw. The former World No.17 owns three career titles but has never booked a trophy on his favorite surface.
“I feel that all the work I have done is for all to see here and I’m playing really well,” 25-year-old Tomic said after the match, per ATPWorldTour.com. “I like the surface and am very comfortable on it. The ball manages to stay low, I serve well and play with slice. I’ve won all of my titles on hard courts, so I’d like to win a title on grass courts.”
Tomic struggled mightily in 2017, losing six in a row from the Australian Open through to Barcelona. He then proceeded to lose four in a row two more times and finished the season with a 10-19 overall record and a year-end ranking of 140.
A run to the Aix-en-Provence Challenger final in May and a successful qualification at Roland Garros have enabled Tomic to get his ranking from 243 to 181, but there’s still work to be done.
In other action on Friday at the Libema Open, Richard Gasquet defeated Stefanos Tsitsipas, 7-6(2), 7-6(4). The Frenchman leveled his lifetime record against the Greek at one apiece and improved to 19-12 on the season. Tsitsipas appeared to struggle with a right upper arm issue and saw the trainer after the opening set.
The top half semifinal will be an all-unseeded affair as Jeremy Chardy and Matthew Ebden both came through on Friday. Chardy, who won the Surbiton Challenger last week, stretched his streak to eight in a row with a 6-4, 4-6, 7-6(5) win over American MacKenzie McDonald.
Ebden took out Marius Copil, 6-3, 6-3.