Thompson stops Davidovich in Atlanta quarterfinals | ATP Tour

Atlanta

Thompson stops Davidovich in Atlanta quarterfinals

Your next rival will be Shang

July 26, 2024

Jordan Thompson had only four ATP Tour semi-finals in his career before 2024. This year, however, he has made the same number of advances to this round. The latest came on Friday at the Atlanta Open.

The Australian, who won 7-6(5), 4-6, 6-3, beat Spaniard Alejandro Davidovich Fokina. The No. 41 in the PIF ATP Rankings, the fourth seed this week in the ATP 250 on hard courts, needed just over three hours to do so.

And he didn’t just have to be physically resilient. Mentally, he had to be patient against Davidovich Fokina, who saved 12 of 14 break points. The break at 4-3 in the decider allowed the 30-year-old right-hander to take a lead that he was able to turn into his 22nd victory of the season, and his eighth advance to the semi-finals on the circuit.

This result continues to consolidate the best season of his career. Last February he won his first ATP Tour title in Los Cabos, which allowed him to climb to No. 32 to mark his best position in the PIF ATP Rankings.

Now ranked No. 37 in the live rankings, Thompson will be seeking his fourth tour-level final (he is 1-2 in championship matches). He will face qualifying player Juncheng Shang of China.

The Chinese player has a good chance of winning the match. And not only because he leads the Lexus ATP HeadToHead with Thompson 1-0 since he beat him this year in Indian Wells; also because of his great form this week that has allowed him to leave two seeded players behind in the last two rounds.

A day after prevailing over hometown player Ben Shelton, Shang, No. 89 in the PIF ATP Rankings, defeated Australian Max Purcell by a score of 7-6(3), 6-4 in two hours and one minute. He will be chasing his first ATP Tour final qualification on Saturday.