Berrettini boosts London ATP Finals hopes in Vienna
Dominic Thiem is into the semi-finals of the Vienna Open, where Matteo Berrettini stands in the way of a place in the showpiece.
Matteo Berrettini gave his hopes of qualifying for the ATP Finals a huge shot in the arm, while Dominic Thiem benefitted from Pablo Carreno Busta’s withdrawal at the Vienna Open.
Italian Berrettini ended Andrey Rublev’s seven-match winning streak with a hard-earned 7-5 7-6 (7-4) triumph in Austria to book a semi-final berth.
Berrettini, who will break into the world’s top 10 on Monday, is eighth in the race for a place at the end-of-season tournament in London and is 130 points clear of Roberto Bautista Agut – a last-eight loser to Reilly Opelka in Basle.
Austrian home favourite Thiem, aiming to win this tournament for the first time, will be next up for Berrettini in the last four.
World number five Thiem was leading 5-0 against Carreno Busta when the Spaniard was forced to retire.
Diego Schwartzman still has an outside chance of reaching London himself and recovered from falling 3-0 behind in the first set to defeat Karen Khachanov 7-6 (8-6) 6-2.
This rally is a just a joke
That. Was. SPECIAL!
: @TennisTV | @ErsteBankOpen pic.twitter.com/SFCigoMAQ3
— ATP Tour (@atptour) October 25, 2019
The Argentinian plays Gael Monfils for a spot in the final after the Frenchman earned a convincing 7-5 6-1 triumph over Aljaz Bedene.
Monfils moves into the top 10 in the race to London, as the battle for places in the English capital heats up.
