Pablo Carreno Busta had faced Kevin Anderson in Grand Slam semi-finals and at ATP World Tour Masters 1000 events. But never before had the Spaniard been able to solve the 6'8” South African's game. Until Thursday.
Carreno Busta broke through against the sixth seed for the first time in their FedEx ATP Head2Head series, advancing to the semi-finals of the Miami Open presented by Itau 6-4, 5-7, 7-6(6). Carreno Busta reached his second Masters 1000 semi-final (2017 Indian Wells), and he'll try to make his maiden Masters 1000 final when he next faces either Alexander Zverev or Borna Coric, who play later Thursday.
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The Spaniard had to have a short memory and put aside a few ominous streaks that were working against him when he stepped on Stadium Court. He was 1-21 lifetime against Top 10 opponents, and he hadn't beaten a Top 20 player since 2017 Roland Garros. Carreno Busta was also 0-4 against Anderson, including a three-set loss earlier this month at the BNP Paribas Open in Indian Wells.
But the Spaniard was more consistent than the No. 8 player in the ATP Rankings, who also brought a dismal streak into the quarter-final. Anderson was 0-9 lifetime in Masters 1000 quarter-finals.
Carreno Busta broke in the seventh game with a forehand pass Anderson couldn't reach, and he looked to his box with confidence, shouting “Vamos, vamos!”
The Spaniard hadn't won a match in Miami before the past two weeks (0-4), but he quickly had a set and a break lead after Anderson started slowly in the second set.
At 5-4, however, with the match on Carreno Busta's racquet, Anderson saved two match points and grasped momentum to even the contest. To Carreno Busta's credit, however, he bounced back, and the two Top 20 players stayed on serve until the deciding-set tie-break, when Carreno Busta captured his opportunity.
Down a match point at 5/6, he put Anderson's serve in play and the South African sailed a forehand. Two points later, at 7/6, the Spaniard landed a second serve that Anderson mishit, and Carreno Busta, after two hours and 42 minutes, could finally celebrate.
from Tennis - ATP World Tour https://ift.tt/2GEy7uA
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