The Bosnian Mirza Basic, coming from qualifying, starred in the feat of the semifinals of the Sofia tournament by defeating the favorite Stan Wawrinka, first seeded, and getting into the final against the Romanian Marius Copil.
Basic (n.129 ATP) defeated by 7-6 (6) and 6-4 a Swiss Wawrinka who returned to competition in this tournament, after the Australian Open, and who happened to be the great favorite to the final triumph.
But, if in previous rounds the Swiss had come back and suffered, this time Basic did not give in to the pressure of having in front of a player used to being in the noble zone of the world rankings.
Basic took the first set in the tiebreaker of the thirteenth game, in which it was his third ball to score it; and he recovered from the break of the serve in the fifth game of the second set to, with two breaks, take over the match, and on the rival serve.
Copil will be measured in the final, who defeated the Slovakian Jozef Kovalik, 6-4 and 6-2, in a match that was very favorable to the Romanian who dominated from the first game, when he took the serve of his rival , and then did not concede a break ball with his serve.
In the second set, two new breaks of the rival serve (third and fifth game) led to an easy victory.
– Semi-final results
Mirza Basic (BIH) defeats Stan Wawrinka (SUI, 1), 7-6 (6) and 6-4.
Marius Copil (RUM) to Josef Kovalik (SVK), by 6-4 and 6-2. EFE.
Basic (n.129 ATP) defeated by 7-6 (6) and 6-4 a Swiss Wawrinka who returned to competition in this tournament, after the Australian Open, and who happened to be the great favorite to the final triumph.
But, if in previous rounds the Swiss had come back and suffered, this time Basic did not give in to the pressure of having in front of a player used to being in the noble zone of the world rankings.
Basic took the first set in the tiebreaker of the thirteenth game, in which it was his third ball to score it; and he recovered from the break of the serve in the fifth game of the second set to, with two breaks, take over the match, and on the rival serve.
Copil will be measured in the final, who defeated the Slovakian Jozef Kovalik, 6-4 and 6-2, in a match that was very favorable to the Romanian who dominated from the first game, when he took the serve of his rival , and then did not concede a break ball with his serve.
In the second set, two new breaks of the rival serve (third and fifth game) led to an easy victory.
– Semi-final results
Mirza Basic (BIH) defeats Stan Wawrinka (SUI, 1), 7-6 (6) and 6-4.
Marius Copil (RUM) to Josef Kovalik (SVK), by 6-4 and 6-2. EFE.