Russia’s Alexander Shevchenko will play in his first ATP Tour final after topping Pierre-Hugues Herbert of France 6-4, 6-4 on Friday in the semifinals of the Moselle Open in Metz, France.
Despite 10 aces from Herbert, Shevchenko was the better server in the 77-minute match, hitting eight aces and winning 82 percent of points on first serve compared to 69 percent and three double faults from his opponent.
Fourth seed Ugo Humbert of France cruised past Italy’s Fabio Fognini 6-0, 6-2 in the other semifinal. Humbert converted five of his 11 break chances while Fognini didn’t have any in the match.
Humbert is in the hunt for his fourth ATP trophy and his first since 2021, when he won in Halle.
Sofia Open
Jack Draper defeated third-seeded German Jan-Lennard Struff 6-3, 6-4 in Sofia, Bulgaria, to become the youngest Brit since Andy Murray to reach the final of an ATP Tour event.
Draper, 21, needed just 85 minutes to earn the victory and his first final. Murray was the same age when he made his first appearance in a tour title event in 2009.
Both Draper and Struff powered 10 aces and hit two double faults. The difference in the match came down to service breaks, with Draper able to save seven of eight but Struff only one of four.
In the final of the ATP 250 event on Saturday, Draper will meet second seed Adrian Mannarino of France.
Mannarino defeated Russian Pavel Kotov 6-2, 7-6 (2) in the 86-minute semifinal and will seek his third tour title of 2023, following wins in Newport and Astana. He has a career-high 42 wins on the season.
–Field Level Media