Garin Saves 5 M.P. To Upset Chardy

Chile’s Christian Garin saved five match points to make his second ATP Tour quarter-final on Wednesday at the Fayez Sarofim & Co. U.S. Men’s Clay Court Championship in Houston.

The 22-year-old right-hander was down 3-5, ad out, four times in the third set against Jeremy Chardy. Yet every time, Garin forced the game back to deuce.

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The second-seeded Chardy had one more match point in the tie-break, at 7/6, but Garin erased that opportunity as well and clinched his second match point to advance 3-6, 7-6(4), 7-6(6).

The Frenchman was plagued with unforced errors, including 13 double faults, one of which gave Garin the break at 3-5 in the third. Chardy donated two more double faults in the third-set tie-break.

Both players had their chances, though. For the match, 32 break points were faced.

Garin made his first ATP quarter-final, semi-final and final in February at the Brasil Open in Sao Paolo (l. to Pella). He will next meet Swiss qualifier Henri Laaksonen, who beat American Ryan Harrison 6-4, 7-5.

Spain’s Marcel Granollers, 2008 champion, made his first ATP quarter-final since July in Newport, when he lost to eventual champion Steve Johnson. Granollers converted all five break points and dismissed Aussie Bernard Tomic 6-1, 6-2 in only 47 minutes. Granollers will next face #NextGenATP Norwegian Casper Ruud, who upset fourth seed Reilly Opelka of the U.S. 4-6, 6-4, 6-4.

Ruud withstood 16 aces from the 6’11” American and converted his only two break points. The 20-year-old also won 64 per cent of his second-serve points.