Finland youngster Emil Ruusuvuori earned a shot at his maiden ATP World Tour title with a hard-fought win over Kamil Majchrzak while Joao Sousa edged out Elias Ymer after saving three match points in high-quality semifinals at the Tata Open Maharashtra here on Saturday.
Majchrzak got himself to a position where he could have served for the second set to force a decider, but it was the 22-year-old Ruusuvuori who emerged a 6-3, 7-6(0) winner after one hour and 46 minutes of engrossing tennis at the Balewadi Sports Complex.
In the other semifinal, World No. 137 Sousa used all his experience to wriggle out of a tough situation against the talented Swede Ymer before winning 5-7, 7-6(4), 7-5 in three hours and 13 minutes.
The first semifinal featured intense rallies right from the beginning with both Ruusuvuori, ranked 87th, and the 95th-ranked Majchrzak displaying their range of shots. It was only in the eighth game that a break opportunity opened up for the Finnish player which he utilised and went on to win the set.
In the second, it was Majchrzak who broke in the eighth game. However, he was broken while serving for the set as Ruusuvuori stormed back into the set and blanked his opponent in the tie-breaker.
In the other last-four clash, early breaks and solid holds put Ymer in the driver’s seat as the Swede raced to a 4-1 lead. Sousa, however, got a break back in the sixth game. The experienced Portuguese, despite facing two set points, managed to make it 5-5 with another break in the 10th game.
Ymer picked himself up and earned another break with an exquisite backhand winner after an intense rally. Sousa netted a forehand on the next point to drop serve before the Swede served out the set with ease.
In the second, Sousa kept his nerve to win the tie-breaker 7-4. In the 10th game of the decider, Sousa was down 15-40 but managed to save both match points. Though Ymer earned a third matchpoint in the game, he missed it with a backhand return error.
The Portuguese battled on and made his first matchpoint opportunity count in the 12th game.
The results:
Singles (semifinals): Emil Ruusuvuori (Fin) bt Kamil Majchrzak (Pol) 6-3, 7-6(0); Joao Sousa (Por) bt Elias Ymer (Swe) 5-7, 7-6(4), 7-5.
