Tsitsipas overcomes inspired Khachanov to move to Rotterdam semifinal

Stefanos Tsitsipas overcame a very inspired Karen Khachanov whom he defeated after three exhausting sets moving to the ABN AMRO WTT Rotterdam semifinal.

The opening set started with Tsitsipas taking an early lead due to some rushed mistakes by Khachanov. That early break woke up the Russian who went on to win four games in a row to make it 4-2. He continued to play well especially from the baseline which allowed him to capture the first set 6-4.

The 2nd set was a different story as the script completely turned. This time around it was who played a much better winning rally and hitting winners. Khachanov's level dipped a bit in the 2nd and all of that gave Stefanos the 5-0 lead. The Russian eventually settled down a bit pulling one break back but it was not enough to win the set.

After winning the 2nd set with 6-3 Stefanos looked like he would turn the match completely around but it was the Russian once again who delivered the first punch. Finding some of the magic from the first set allowed Khachanov to break Tsitsipas taking a 3-1 lead.

After a lengthy battle in the next game, Tsitsipas managed to pull it back and tie it a 3-3. A couple of strong service games later we found ourselves at 5-5. And that was the crucial moment because Tsitsipas carved out a few break points and converted them after a Khachanov unforced forehand error.

In the end, he was able to close out the match with 7-5. A very hard match for Stefanos which he was able to pull out despite losing the opening set. The match lasted well over two and a half hours with the Greek winning 4-6 6-3 7-5.