Tsitsipas likes clay in Barcelona

MANILA, Philippines —  World number seven Stefanos Tsitsipas saved two match points to defeat Facundo Diaz Acosta and reach the semifinals of the Barcelona clay-court tournament on Friday.

The Greek came through 4-6, 6-3, 7-6 (10/8) after his 53rd-ranked Argentine opponent missed a match point in the 12th game of the deciding set.

Both men then saved more match points in the tie-breaker before Tsitsipas, a three-time runner-up at the Barcelona tournament, secured a ninth successive win following on from his Monte Carlo Masters title victory at the weekend.

“I was coming close to losing at certain moments in the match. It seemed like a mountain,” Tsitsipas said.

“I reminded myself that I have a headband that I wear here that has a mountain and that I need to climb it, so it kept me going.”

He added: “I feel like having so many matches under my belt and faced situations like this helps for sure.”

The 25-year-old Tsitsipas will face Dusan Lajovic, the world number 59 from Serbia, in the semifinals on Saturday.

Lajovic knocked out 36th-ranked Arthur Fils of France 6-4, 3-6, 6-2 in his quarterfinal.