Tsitsipas reaches ninth semi-final of 2022; gets Rublev next

Stefanos Tsitsipas beat Hubert Hurkacz 7-6 (8), 6-3 on Friday to score his seventh win in nine career meetings over the Pole

Stefanos Tsitsipas at the 2022 Laver Cup Image Credit: Antoine Couvercelle / Panoramic

Tennis Majors

October 7, 2022

Greece’s Stefanos Tsitsipas, the No 3 seed, reached the semi-finals of the Astana Open by beating Poland’s Pole Hubert Hurkacz, the No 7 seed, in straight sets on Friday.

Tsitsipas, who saved five break points in the first set, did not face a single break point during the contest while he was able to convert one of eight break point chances he had and won 7-6 (8), 6-3 to reach the last four for the ninth time this season.

The Greek has not dropped a set all week, beating Kazakh wildcard Mikhail Kukushkin (6-3, 6-4) and Italian qualifier Luca Nardi (7-6 (2), 7-6 (3)) in the previous rounds of Nur-Sultan.

Moving into the semi-finals! 🤩@steftsitsipas defeats Hurkacz 7-6 6-3 in Astana#AstanaOpen pic.twitter.com/KKCU9qQGVs
— Tennis TV (@TennisTV) October 7, 2022

Tsitsipas holds a 5-4 lead over semi-final foe Rublev

Andrey Rublev & Stefanos Tsitsipas, Monte-Carlo, 2021 — Andrey Rublev and Stefanos Tsitsipas (Image Credit – AI / Reuters / Panoramic)

The win improves Tsitsipas’ record to 7-2 over Hurkacz on the professional circuit. The Greek, ranked No 6, will face Russian Andrey Rublev, the world No 9 and fifth seed this week, for a spot in the final. Tsitsipas has a slim 5-4 lead over Rublev in career meetings.

The Greek, a two-time Masters Series champion, is still in search of his first ATP 500 title, having gone 0-8 in ATP 500 finals so far in his career.

The win also ties Tistipsas with world No 1 Carlos Alcaraz for most wins on the ATP Tour. Both players now have won 52 matches in 2022.