Jurij Rodionov continues his successful run at the ATP Challenger in Kobe, Japan and is in the final there. The ÖTV ace defeated the Italian Mattia Bellucci in two sets 7:5, 6:3 in the semifinals.
The 25-year-old fell behind 1:4 in the first set, even fended off a set point when the score was 3:5 and finally turned things around.
In the second set, Rodionov marched away with 4:1, but gave up briefly when he conceded the break to 4:3. But in the next game he takes the service from his opponent again and ultimately serves to win the match.
On the way to the final, the Austrian beat, among others, the top seeded Chinese Yunchaokete Bu. Only against the Japanese Sho Shimabukuro was there a set loss. In the final, Rodionov will now face the Belgian Alexander Blockx.
On the other hand, Joel Schwärzler was eliminated in the quarter-finals in Drummondville (Canada). The 18-year-old from Vorarlberg lost to the American Aidan Mayo 3:6, 4:6.
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