The top seed?s next opponent will be 19-year-old Ryan Harrison, who outlasted Yen-Hsun Lu of Taiwan 3-6, 6-3, 6-4 in 2 hours, 24 minutes.
Harrison became the first American teenager to reach back-to-back semifinals since Andy Roddick in 2002. Fish beat Harrison in the semifinals at Atlanta last week on the way to his first title of the season.
?Winning two tournaments in a row is not easy. Not everyone does that,? Fish said. ?That would be special. But it?s a long ways away.?
First, Fish must get past the up-and-coming Harrison, who has been anointed by some as the next American star.
Harrison is building a reputation as a player known for his ability to battle back from early deficits. He managed to do that against Lu with a comeback that has him within a win of his first career singles final.
?Mardy has been playing fantastic,? Harrison said. ?I learned some things from that match and would love another shot to play him.?
A strong stretch of play has firmly entrenched Fish into the world?s No. 9 ranking. Prior to the win in Atlanta, the 29-year-old reached the quarterfinals at Wimbledon, losing to eventual runner-up Rafael Nadal.
Fish and Kunitsyn got their match started in unorthodox fashion, opening with five straight services breaks. Fish was disappointed with his sloppy play but responded in a strong manner.
Although he has been successful at this event, Fish has fallen short in past bids to reach the finals. He is looking forward to his rematch with Harrison, whom he says has a bright future ahead of him.
?I feel like I?m at an advantage because I?m better than him right now,? Fish said. ?He has a lot of years left to kick my butt.?
Alex Bogomolov Jr. defeated fourth-seeded Thomaz Bellucci 1-6, 6-4, 6-1 and will play the winner of Friday?s late match between second-seeded Juan Martin del Potro of Argentina and Ernests Gulbis of Latvia.
Source: http://feeds.tennis.com/~r/tenniscom-news/~3/3Ws47Znxwfg/
No comments:
Post a Comment