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ATP Mexico: Tomas Berdych ousted, but Sam Querrey advances

By The Sports Xchange
Sam Querrey survived his match at the Abierto Mexicano de Tenis Mifel ATP tournament Saturday. Photo by Hugo Philpott/UPI
Sam Querrey survived his match at the Abierto Mexicano de Tenis Mifel ATP tournament Saturday. Photo by Hugo Philpott/UPI | License Photo

The top seed is gone, but the No. 2 seed survived to advance to the final at the Abierto Mexicano de Tenis Mifel ATP tournament on Friday in Los Cabos.

Top-seeded Tomas Berdych was upset by Australian upstart Thanasi Kokkinakis 3-6, 7-6(5), 6-4 in a semifinal match. Second-seeded Sam Querrey recovered after dropping the opening set to defeat Damir Dzumhur 3-6, 6-4, 6-4.

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Based on the rankings, Kokkinakis' victory was highly improbable. He came into the tournament at No. 454 in the ATP Rankings. The 31-year-old Berdych is No. 14.

The 21-year-old Kokkinakis had returned to the court this spring after battling injuries for the past 1 1/2 years. The struggle to reach his first ATP Tour final made the win that much sweeter.

"I showed some glimpses of good tennis this year, so to do that consistently this week in Los Cabos means a lot," said Kokkinakis. "I've had great support from the fans here all week."

After losing the first set against Berdych, Kokkinakis jumped out to a 6-2 lead in the tiebreaker and closed out the set. In the third set, Kokkinakis was up 5-2, but he let Berdych pull within 5-4 before putting him away in the two-hour, 18-minute match.

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In a late-night match that extended well into Saturday morning, Querrey remained on a roll. A Wimbledon semifinalist last month, Querrey got past Dzumhur and will be seeking his second title in Mexico this year. In March, Querrey beat Rafael Nadal in the Acapulco tournament final.

"I'm going to move here," Querrey said jokingly.

Querrey beat Kokkinakis in their only matchup in 2015. The American was impressed with what he saw from Kokkinakis.

"He's hitting his forehand big and played really well against Berdych," Querrey said. "It's going to be a tough match."

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