Herbert to meet de Minaur in Shenzhen semis

Quarter finals were played in the two ATP tournaments underway, and semi finals in the WTA tournaments.

In Shenzhen, the first quarter final was unseeded, between Albert Ramos-Vinolas and Pierre-Hugues Herbert, and took a long time to complete.

In set one, both players had first serve percentages In the sixties, and each won around three quarters of points on their serve, first or second.

No service breaks resulted from the two chances created, one apiece.

And in the tie break, it was ultimately the Spaniard who prevailed, 8 points to 6, over Herbert.

Set two mirrored the opener in many ways, with no crack of either serve.  The difference was the ease with which Herbert flowed through his service games, winning 28 of the 32 points available.

He accordingly was never threatened, while Ramos-Vinolas needed to fight off two break points before a second tie break ensued.

The first section of the match where either player dominated was here, Herbert racing through 7 points to 1, and levelling the match 6-7(6) 7-6(1)

In the decider, as the match passed the two and a half hour mark, eight games didn’t separate the pair.

At 4-5, though, scoreboard pressure was placed on Ramos-Vinolas when he served to stay in the match.  

Suddenly, three break points arrived, and Pierre-Hugues Herbert needed just one to win 6-7(6) 7-6(1) 6-4.

Other ATP Shenzhen quarter final results 

• Alex de Minaur (7) defeated Damir Dzumhur (4) 6-3 7-6(7), and will play Pierre-Hugues Herbert in the semis
• Qualifier Yoshihito Nishioka defeated Cameron Norrie 7-6(2) 6-2
• Fernando Verdasco (5) defeated wildcard Andy Murray 6-4 6-4, and will play Yoshihito Nishioka in the semis 

ATP Chengdu quarter final results

• Fabio Fognini (1) defeated Matthew Ebden (6) 6-4 6-2
• Taylor Fritz defeated Sam Querrey, in an all American clash 7-6(1) 7-5.  He will play Fabio Fognini in the semis
• João Sousa (7) defeated Malek Jaziri 6-1 3-6 6-3
• Qualifier Bernard Tomic defeated lucky loser Felix Auger-Aliassime 6-2 6-4, and will play João Sousa in the semis 

WTA Wuhan semi final results 

• Anett Kontaveit defeated Qiang Wang 6-2 2-1 (retired).  It was a thigh injury that forced Wang to leave the tournament, but Kontaveit deserved the win, one that achieved her, and Estonia’s first Premier 5 final appearance.  The forehand was especially lethal, and although Wang was increasingly hampered, the tennis was top drawer from Kontaveit.
• Aryna Sabalenka defeated Ash Barty (16) 7-6(2) 6-4, after Barty led 5-3 in the opening set.  Sabalenka will play Anett Kontaveit in the final.

WTA Tashkent semi final results 

• Qualifier Anastasia Potapova defeated Kateryna Kozlova 6-2 6-3, hitting 23 winners
• Margarita Gasparyan defeated Mona Barthel 4-6 6-1 7-5, and will play her doubles partner Anastasia Potapova in an all Russian final.  The pair were defeated in the doubles semi finals