A major upset was just averted by Ukraine’s Alexandr Dolgopolov who was pushed in three sets by Russian Igor Andreev on Wednesday.
In one of the matches of the tournament so far, Dolgopolov beat Andreev 6-7(3) 7-6(9) 6-2 to keep his Brisbane International dream alive.
Showcasing a sign of things to come, both players broke serve in the opening set before Andreev, 28, won a tense tiebreak.
With the crowd building as word spread about the thriller, viewers weren’t disappointed as the pair maintained the intensity in the second set.
Both players began the second set trading games but with scores locked at 2-1, Andreev converted a break point to extend his lead to 3-1.
Having held serve to push the score out to 4-1 the pressure was on Dolgopolov to make a game of the fixture, which he did, by making it 4-2.
His confidence now back, Dolgopolov took a break point chance in the next game before holding serve to even the score at 4-4.
With both players trying valiantly to break his opponent’s serve, neither were successful in their efforts as another tiebreak emerged.
The tense affair progressed evenly until, with the score at 5-5, an unforced error from the Ukrainian serve gave Andreev a match point.
Unable to seal victory, both players went point-for-point until Dolgopolov, 23, broke serve before claiming the second set.
In the deciding set, Andreev began to tire and as a result many unforced errors surfaced in his game as Dolgopolov raced to a 3-0 lead.
As Andreev’s chances of advancing to the next round looked to decrease, he tried to make a comeback with the score at 3-1.
Consequently, Dolgopolov was forced to defend as Andreev went on the attack. But it was Dolgopolov who kept his nerve and the lead he’d built earlier in the set, which he claimed 6-2.
Dolgopolov will now play former Brisbane International winner Radek Stepanek on Thursday for a spot in the semifinals.
Earlier Colombia’s Santiago Giraldo defeated Germany’s Philipp Petzschner to book his place in the quarterfinals. Giraldo is scheduled to play second seed Gilles Simon in the second match of the day at Pat Rafter Arena on Thursday.