06.06.2013 17:42:19 | The unstoppable Teymuraz Gabashvili (144th in ATP ranking) has made it through to UniCredit Czech Open semifinals. Having knocked out the last year’s champion, Florian Mayer, he clashed with Jan Hajek, the finalist of 2012. He defeated him in two sets 6:4 and 6:3 and advanced to semifinals of the 20th anniversary UniCredit Czech Open. What was the key to his victory over Hajek?
“It’s been my thirteenth victory at challengers in a row. My self-confidence and speed were the key factors of the victory. I could see yesterday that Jan doesn’t like fast balls very much. I myself didn’t really believe I would be faster today. It might have been caused by the sun after the rainy days. It just helped me in some way. I managed to play the balls inside at the beginning while Jan couldn’t. He didn’t have much time to respond to it because I really played big hits. I might have been a little luckier in the first set, but I already played better in the second one. I took the lead to 3:0 and it seemed I would win with ease. But then the opponent improved and I slackened off and the game became even. Eventually, my serve helped me and I managed to overcome the worst. Jan Hajek is very strong, especially at the local tournament. So, I’m really glad I managed to get through.”
Did you expect reaching the semis? “Honestly, I didn’t expect it. The local tournament is very strong and I consider it one of two strongest challengers in the world. Being in the semifinals is a great success for me. I hope it’ll give me self-confidence for the next rounds and matches. I’m facing Radek Stepanek tomorrow who’s the local king. It’s gonna be a very difficult match mentally because he is very strong here. However, I think we last met on a hard court and I defeated him. Hard to say who will win tomorrow. He keeps improving and if he plays better I will pay tribute to him. I just play my game and he plays his. If he defeats me I will take it well. That’s the way it should be.”
What did Jan Hajek think about the match? “One doesn’t start a match thinking about his defeat. The first set was about one break and then he didn’t give me a chance to break back. Later, I lost focus at the beginning of the second set and than you can’t do much about it. The opponent played great. He didn’t make many mistakes, managed the first three games very well and, even though I was trying hard it was too late for a breakthrough.”
