Dan Cox and Billy Harris faced each other in the Men’s second Semi Final match. It was always going to be a very tight match, with both players very close in the ATP rankings (Cox at 399 and Harris at 322). Both players settled into the first set well. Cox was using his patented slice serve to push Harris out wide but, despite Cox’s consistency, Harris was the first to break in game six. It was a great first set from Harris, who capitalised on the shakiness of Cox and used his serve very accurately and efficiently, winning 84% of points off his first serve.
In the second set, Cox won the first game of the set 2 to love, looking very imposing. He then achieved 3 break points in the second game, putting an onerous amount of pressure on Harris and ultimately converting it to a break with a sumptuous drop shot. Again, the first serve was instrumental in this with Cox winning 100% of the points off of it. Cox went on to win his next game and force another break off the Harris serve. It was a very confident and assertive set by Cox, whose returns also forced Harris to win every point through groundstrokes rather than grabbing a few natural points with his serve. Cox ended up concluding the second set 6-1.
Once again, the match tie-break did not disappoint. Harris served powerfully to begin with, gaining a small mini-break. However, Cox never left his shoulder in the race to the finish. They went right up to the line 10-10, 11-10, 11-11… Right up until 14-12. Cox had 3 match points until, at 13-12, he finally converted and won the match in a great 3-set battle 3-6 6-1 14-12. A very well-deserved victory for Dan Cox, who plays Kyle Edmund tomorrow.
In the second Woman’s Semi Final match Maia Lumsden faced off Freya Christie. Throughout the entirety of the first set it was clear that Lumsden wasn’t feeling her best. Although some good rallies were played, Lumsden unfortunately couldn’t play on after the conclusion of the first set and had to retire. And so, Christie wins 6-2 ret. She will play the very strong Elena Malygina tomorrow in the Final!
The 9-12th playoffs featured some thrilling matches. The scores ended:
• Danielle Daley bt Arina Vasilescu 3-6, 6-2, 10-7
• Joanna Garland bt Alice Gillan 7-6(3), 7-6(2)
• Anton Matusevich bt George Houghton 6-1, 6-2
• Sean Hodkin bt Tom Hands 6-2, 2-0 ret.