By Alberto Amalfi | Thursday, February 17, 2022
Arthur Rinderknech swept top-seeded Denis Shapovalov 6-4, 6-4 to storm into his second semifinal in three tournaments this season.
Photo credit: Qatar Tennis Federation Facebook
Arthur Rinderknech was first rate on second serve bouncing top-seeded Denis Shapovalov out of Doha.
World No. 61 Rinderknech won 16 of 20 second-serve points sweeping Shapovalov 6-4, 6-4 to storm into his second semifinal in three tournaments this season.
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It is the lanky Frenchman's second straight win over an explosive seed coming the day after Rinderknech upset seventh-seeded Alexander Bublik 6-7(5), 6-1, 6-4.
Wimbledon semifinalist Shapovalov was seeking his first semifinal since the 2021 Stockholm where he was also top seed and stopped Rinderknech 4-6, 6-3, 7-5 in the quarterfinals.
In today's rematch, Rinderknech was the calmer and more consistent player. Shapovalov sabotaged his own cause committing nine double faults and dropping serve to start the second set.
The 80-minute victory is Rinderknech's third career Top 20 win. Rinderknech, who reached the Adelaide-2 final last month where he fell to Aussie Thanasi Kokkinakis, will play defending champion Nikoloz Basilashvili for a spot in the final.
The third-seeded Basilashvili broke in the final game beating Marton Fucsovics 1-6, 6-3, 7-5.
Doha is a revival ground for Basilashvili.
Last year, Basilashvili arrived at the Qatar ExxonMobil Open mired in a five-match losing streak and went on to defeat Roger Federer, Taylor Fritz and Roberto Bautista Agut to take the title.
This week, Basilashvili was stuck in an eight-match losing streak before beating Elias Ymer and Fucsovics to reach his first semifinal since he was runner-up to Cameron Norrie in Indian Wells.