Thiem taken to brink by Medvedev in Metz

ATP St. Petersburg quarter finals 

• Wildcard Roberto Bautista Agut (5) defeated Marco Cecchinato (3) 7-6(0) 6-3

Roberto will be bidding for his fourth final in 2018, following titles early in Auckland and Dubai, and a loss more recently in Switzerland to Berrettini.

• Wildcard Stan Wawrinka defeated Damir Dzumhur (6) 6-3 6-4.

This puts Stan into only his second semi final for 2018, the other in Bulgaria in February.  Until August in Cincinnati, Stan hadn’t won three successive matches in a tournament all year.  Now he has done it twice.

• After knocking out second seed Fognini, Martin Klizan continued his liking for seed killing with his defeat of Denis Shapovalov (7) 3-6 7-5 6-3

Klizan came back from a set down and trailing 3-5 in the second.  He will play Stan Wawrinka in the semis, continuing his search for a second title in 2018 and seventh in his career.

• Dominic Thiem (1) defeated Daniil Medvedev (8) and will play Roberto Bautista Agut in the semis.

Medvedev looked well out of the contest after the opening set, in which his Austrian opponent won 87% of points on first serve compared with 54%.  Thiem gathered six break chances and used two to his advantage, whereas the one opportunity for the Russian was squashed.

Medvedev rallied well in set two, though, setting the pace, serving first and maintaining scoreboard pressure.  He cracked the Thiem serve with the only break point he could conjure, and the top seed was unable to convert any of his five chances. A set all.

In the decider, the pair exchanged a service break apiece, before the eagerly awaited tie break disappointed the Russian crowd, Thiem racing to 6-1 and five match points.

He won the match on the second of these 6-2 3-6 7-6(2)

Thiem, if he wins his semi, will be featuring in his fifth final of 2018, his record so far 2-2, one of those defeats being to Nadal at Roland Garros.

ATP Metz quarter finals

• Gilles Simon defeated Richard Gasquet (4) 7-6(4) 6-2, breaking an eight match streak of losing to his French compatriot.

Winning his semi final would put Simon into a third final for 2018, having won the Pune, India title in January, and finished runner-up in Lyon in May.

• Radu Albot defeated Ricardas Berankis 7-6(4) 6-4, and will play Gilles Simon in an unseeded semi final
• Kei Nishikori (1) survived a scare before defeating Nikoloz Basilashvili (5) 6-3 4-6 6-4
• Qualifier Matthias Bachinger defeated lucky loser Yannick Maden 6-3 2-6 6-4, and will play Kei Nishikori in the semis