Home hopes Erler/Miedler save 2 MPs to seal Vienna final spot

In a week when home favourite Dominic Thiem competed for the final time at the Erste Bank Open, Alexander Erler and Lucas Miedler continue to keep the Austrian flag flying at the Erste Bank Open in Vienna.

The wild card pair booked its championship-match spot in dramatic fashion on Saturday at the indoor hard-court ATP 500. Erler and Miedler saved two match points in the Match Tie-break to down Wimbledon champions Harri Heliovaara and Henry Patten and set a final showdown against Neal Skupski and Michael Venus.

Chasing their fifth tour-level title of the season, Heliovaara and Patten raced to the opening five games of Saturday’s semi-final clash. They were unable to maintain that momentum to close out victory, however. They soon fell 2-5 down in the second set and, although they rallied from to level at 5-5, Erler and Miedler soon levelled the match with their second break of serve in the set.

Then came the Match Tie-break drama. The Austrians rallied from 1-4 and then from two match points down at 7/9 before converting their own third match point for a famous triumph in which they converted both break points they earned, according to Infosys ATP Stats.

With their 85-minute victory, Erler and Miedler avenged their Marrakech final loss to Heliovaara and Patten and drew level at 1-1 in the Lexus ATP Head2Head series between the two teams.

Koolhof/Mektic reach Basel final, boost Turin hopes
At the Swiss Indoors Basel, Wesley Koolhof and Nikola Mektic halted the run of home duo Marc-Andrea Huelser and Dominic Stricker with a 6-4, 6-7(1), 10-6 semi-final victory. Koolhof and Mektic responded well to a disappointing second-set tie-break to complete a 98-minute triumph.

By reaching their sixth tour-level championship match of the season, Koolhof and Mektic strengthened their Nitto ATP Finals qualification chances. As a result of their run in Basel so far, the 2020 champions at the prestigious season finale have risen two spots to fifth in the PIF ATP Live Race To Turin.

Koolhof and Mektic will climb another spot to fourth should they defeat Jamie Murray/John Peers in Sunday’s final. They are now on an eight-match winning streak, having arrived in Basel off the back of a title run at the Rolex Shanghai Masters.

In the other semi-final, qualifiers Murray and Peers staged a comeback and ousted second-seeded Santiago Gonzalez and Edouard Roger-Vasselin 4-6, 7-6(5), 10-5. The pair sealed the thrilling encounter in one hour and 46 minutes.

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