American tennis player Jared Donaldson has fallen short in the Chengdu Open quarter-finals. Denis Istomin, 31, just narrowly beat the rising American 2-6 7-5 7-6 (7-5). Previously, the Uzbekistani beat Donaldson in the final round of the Madrid Masters qualifying.
No breaks of serve were seen until the fifth game of the match. Donaldson converted his third break point of the game to open up a 3-2 lead. One more break of serve in the seventh game helped the American to seal the opener comfortably. Istomin had a 2-1 lead before he lost five games in a row and the first set, eventually.
Donaldson survived an early scare at the beginning of the second set. Donaldson, who saved two break points in the second game, blew four break points in the fifth game. The American also saved one break point in the eighth game before he blew a break point in the following game. The set went into a decider after the Uzbekistani broke Donaldson in the 12th game to seal a 7-5 score.
Both players comfortably held on to their serves at the beginning of the third set. Istomin clinched two consecutive break points in the eighth game but didn't convert. The Uzbekistani also had a match point on Donaldson's serve in the 10th game. Once again, the world No. 78 failed to convert his chance.
Istomin won three points in a row to open up a 4-2 tie-break lead.
However, Donaldson fought back, tying it all at 4-4. Istomin then won two points in a row and sealed the win, eventually.
Donaldson's costly break point conversion
Istomin fired 12 aces and won 78 percent of his first serve points during the match. The Uzbekistani broke Donaldson just once but still came up with the win. Donaldson paid the price for converting just 2-of-14 of his break point chances.
The match came to an end after two hours and a half of play seen at the Chengdu Open.
Istomin plays Sugita next
Istomin is now set to meet No. 5 seed Yuichi Sugita in the Chengdu Open semi-finals. The Japanese ousted Serb Dusan Lajovic to progress 6-2 6-4. Lajovic threatened to create a comeback potentially. The Serb was up by 4-2 in the second when Sugita won four games in a row to seal straight sets win.
It was the first ever meeting at the ATP level between the two.
Istomin and Sugita have no previous meetings. Sugita has had a great week so far, reaching the semi-finals without a set dropped. The No. 5 seed is the favorite coming into the match. However, Istomin won't go down without a fight.
