Kevin Anderson goes down in Stockholm Open quarter-final
Kevin Anderson went to tiebreakers in both sets, but lost to Fernando Verdasco in Stockholm. Photo: Andres Kudacki/AP Kevin Anderson went to tiebreakers in both sets, but lost to Fernando Verdasco in Stockholm. Photo: Andres Kudacki/AP
It was oh so close, but South Africa’s Kevin Anderson was unable to continue his good run at the Stockholm Open on Friday night.
Anderson, coming off his remarkable run to the final at the US Open – where he lost to Rafael Nadal – went up against Fernando Verdasco of Spain in the quarter-finals in Stockholm on Friday.
A title triumph would’ve seen Anderson – who is currently ranked 16th – move up to eighth on the world list and get closer to a place in the ATP World Tour Finals in London, but it was not to be as Verdasco prevailed 7-6(1) 7-6(1).
Upset or not? Tonights match between 🇪🇸 @FerVerdasco and 🇿🇦 @KAndersonATP ended in a win for Verdasco 76 76!! Great performance at #sthlmopen pic.twitter.com/OyaboyFAns
— Intrum StockholmOpen (@IntrumSthlmOpen) October 20, 2017
In the other last-eight matches, Bulgaria’s Grigor Dimitrov moved closer to qualifying for the ATP World Tour Finals with a 6-3 6-4 victory over Germany’s Mischa Zverev, setting up a semi-final clash with Fabio Fognini.
Dimitrov needed six match points to complete the victory, which maintains his challenge for a debut at the season-ending championships in London next month.
He is currently sixth in the Race to London rankings, with the top eight qualifying. Rafael Nadal, Roger Federer, Dominic Thiem and Alexander Zverev have already claimed their spots.
“It’s nice to get through that match in straight sets,” Dimitrov said. “I knew it was not going to be easy, but at the same time, I thought I kept a very good intensity throughout.”
Italian Fognini beat Jack Sock 6-7(3) 7-6(2) 7-5, while fourth seed Juan Martin del Potro got past Japan’s Yuichi Sugita 6-2 7-6(6).