STOCKHOLM: Tommy Paul ended Stan Wawrinka’s run in the Stockholm ATP tournament with a 6-3, 6-2 win in the semi-finals on Saturday. Wawrinka, the 39-year-old three-time Grand Slam champion who has now slipped to 217th in the world, had beaten Andrey Rublev in the quarter-finals on Friday, his first win against a top-10 opponent for over a year. But he found the going tough against 27-year-old American Paul, the world number 13.
With Paul 4-2 ahead in the first set, Wawrinka had two chances to break but spurned both. The American, who won the Stockholm title in 2021, roared through the second set to move into a final against either Bulgarian world number 10 Grigor Dimitrov or Dutchman Tallon Griekspoor, who face off in the other semi-final later Saturday.
Antwerp ATP
In another development, France’s Hugo Gaston stunned ninth-ranked Alex de Minaur in three sets to record his first career top 10 win and make the semi-finals of the Antwerp ATP tournament on Friday. The 77th-ranked Gaston came through against the top seed 6-3, 3-6, 7-5 to register his second win over the Australian having also prevailed at the 2022 French Open. "It was really close. Alex is such a great player, playing unbelievable tennis this year and in the past few years,” said Gaston.
Gaston will next face Spain’s Roberto Bautista Agut who defeated third seed Felix Auger-Aliassime of Canada 3-6, 6-2, 7-6 (8/6). Second seed Stefanos Tsitsipas was also knocked out on Friday, losing to 33rd-ranked Jiri Lehecka of the Czech Republic, 6-4, 6-4. Appearing in his 14th tour-level quarter-final, 22-year-old Lehecka hit 19 winners, including eight aces and did not face a break point. The fifth seed will play either Marcos Giron of the United States or Sweden’s Zizou Bergs for a place on the final. — AFP