Cabal/Farah Fall To Gille/Vliegen in Toronto
Sander Gille and Joran Vliegen sprung a surprise on Friday as they upset second-seeded Colombians Juan Sebastian Cabal and Robert Farah 6-7(5), 6-2, 10-8 to reach the semi-finals at the National Bank Open Presented by Rogers.
The Belgians won 80 per cent (35/44) of their first-service points and rallied from 5/7 in the Match Tie-break to advance in one hour and 40 minutes. It is the second time the Singapore champions have advanced to the last four at an ATP Masters 1000 event this season, having reached the same stage in Madrid in May.
Gille and Vliegen will next meet Rajeev Ram and Joe Salisbury after the third seeds battled back to overcome Rohan Bopanna and Ivan Dodig 4-6, 6-3, 10-4 in one hour and 32 minutes.
The American-British team responded after losing the first set, racing into a 4-1 lead in the second set before raising their level in the Match Tie-break to advance. The pair has reached three tour-level finals this year at the Australian Open, the Internazionali BNL d’Italia and the Viking International Eastbourne.
Top seeds Nikola Mektic and Mate Pavic also booked their spot in the semi-finals with a hard-fought 6-3, 6-7(6), 10-7 victory against Matwe Middelkoop and Luke Saville.
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The Croatians have been dominant in their first season together, capturing nine tour-level titles, including three ATP Masters 1000 crowns, Wimbledon and an Olympic gold medal in Tokyo. Mektic and Pavic did not face a break point as they secured their victory in one hour and 41 minutes.
They will next face fourth seeds Kevin Krawietz and Horia Tecau after the German-Romanian tandem defeated Aslan Karatsev and Dusan Lajovic 6-3, 3-6, 10-3 in 75 minutes. Krawietz and Tecau are aiming to capture their second title as a team this week in Toronto, having lifted the trophy in Halle in June.