Filed under: ATP
With the U.S. Open around the corner, the last hard-court tuneup event in New Haven has its final solidified. Ninth-seeded Sergiy Stakhovsky (right) of the Ukraine and 15th-seeded Denis Istomin will face off in the championship match at the Pilot Pen on Saturday.
Istomin defeated 10th-seeded Viktor Troicki in three sets in Friday’s semifinal 7-6 (10), 3-6, 6-2. Stakhovsky defeated 12th-seeded Thiemo De Bakker in straight sets 6-3, 6-4. Stakhovsky was able to stave off De Bakker’s strong serve with solid serving of his own. He converted 86 percent of his first-serve points and was not broken once.
Winning a tuneup event would be nothing new to Stakhovsky if he is to defeat Istomin. The 47th-ranked player won this year’s Wimbledon tuneup event just days prior to Wimbledon at ‘s-Hertogenbosch, Netherlands. However, it did not help him much at the All England Club. He bowed out in the first round to American Sam Querrey.
Saturday will be Istomin’s first ever ATP final. The 46th-ranked player from Uzbekistan has had a solid year, compiling a 26-19 record for the season.
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