• Pilot Pen

Baghdatis toppled in marathon match

Denis Istomin had the staying power to beat Teymuraz Gabashvili © Getty Images

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Top seed Marcos Baghdatis has fallen short in a final set tie-break as ninth seed Sergiy Stakhovsky claimed a memorable upset in the quarter-finals of the Pilot Pen in New Haven.

Baghdatis is known for being drawn into marathon matches and this was no different, narrowly taking the first set before succumbing to a 5-7 6-1 7-6 defeat in nearly two and a half hours.

Baghdatis only landed his first serve in around half the time, giving Stakhovsky the opportunity to look at the Cypriot's weaker second delivery, which he took full advantage of with three breaks in the second set. The pair, meeting for the first time, traded breaks in the final set before the world No.47 held on for a 7-4 victory in the tie-break.

Denis Istomin showed his fighting qualities to battle past qualifier Teymuraz Gabashvili. After racing through the first set, Istomin, the 15th seed, was stunned as his opponent went for broke and regularly found the lines with some blistering winners.

He only won eight more points than Istomin in the set but it was enough to see him earn the crucial break of serve he needed to force the match to go the distance.

The final set ebbed and flowed, with both men breaking each other twice. With their statistics almost identical, there was little surprise that the match went into a tie-break - which Istomin finally took 10-8 to seal a 6-1 3-6 7-6(8) victory.

Lucky loser Radek Stepanek's fortune ran out as Viktor Troicki moved into the final four with a 6-2 6-3 win. Tenth seed Troicki will take on Istomin.

Twelve seed Thiemo De Bakker advanced into the semi-finals, where he will face Stakhovsky, with an authoritative showing against Evgeny Korolev.

De Bakker was irresistible on serve, not allowing his opponent any chances to break, and he converted one of his three break points to take the opening set.

The Dutchman struggled to find the same rhythm in the second set, especially on his second serve, but his return was better than his opponent's and three breaks of serve did the damage as he completed a 6-4 6-3 victory.

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