All the results from day five of the men’s ASB Classic at Stanley Street.
Zizou Bergs advances to final v Monfils
He did it the hard way, a three-set battle over two hours but he’s through to the final 6-2, 3-6, 7-5!
Tight contest continues
ASB Classic day five results: Nuno Borges and Zizou Bergs battle it out for place in final
NZ Herald
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5:25pm: Bergs is having none of that, huge effort to break back and tie it up again at 5-5! A big fist pump to the crowd, you can see a lift in his body language.
5:20pm: Borges breaks Bergs and is now serving for the match!
5:13pm: Borges holds serve and we’re deadlocked once more, 4-4.
4:58pm: It’s 2-2 in the third set, Bergs on serve.
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One set apiece!
4:43pm: Borges wins the second set 6-3, setting up a gruelling third in the heat.
He seems to have an issue with a right thigh muscle and has called the physio over but is able to resume.
Borges hits back
4:28pm: Another break! Borges goes 4-2 up.
4:24pm: The Portuguese breaks Bergs and then holds serve to take a 3-2 lead in the second set.
Bergs continues
4:05pm: 2-0 to the Belgian in the second set, foot firmly on the gas.
3:48pm: Bergs takes the set 6-2! The Belgian is one step closer to meeting veteran Gael Monfils in the final.
3:36pm: Double break for Bergs who is now 4-1 up.
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Bergs, age 25, has a world ranking of 66. Borges, 27, is ranked 36th.
3:33pm: The underdog, Bergs, goes up a break, 3-1 in the first.
3:15pm: Up next on Centre Court, seventh seed Nuno Borges of Portugal takes on Zizou Bergs of Belgium.
The Frenchman advances!
2:57pm: Monfils beats Basavareddy 7-6, 6-4 to knock out the courageous American teenager. It won’t be the last we see of him.
Monfils makes the final at his fourth time of asking!
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2:49pm: 4-4 as Monfils holds serve, we’ve got a battle on our hands on centre court.
2:28pm: Basavareddy goes up 2-1 in the second set.
2:11pm: Monfils wins the tie-break 7-5 and the set!
Tie-break!
2:00pm: Basavareddy holds serve and we’re headed to a tie-breaker in the first set on centre court!
1:51pm: 5-5 as Basavareddy holds serve.
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1:35pm: 3-3 in the first set between Monfils and Basavareddy.
We’re underway on centre court
1:17pm: Monfils holds serve takes the first game after two deuces, Basavareddy had a break point at 40-30 and won’t give up any easy points.
Good morning
The quarterfinals saw another upset from 19-year-old American Nishesh Basavareddy as he beat Alex Michelsen, 2-6, 6-2, 6-4.
He’ll meet crowd favourite Gael Monfils in the semifinal, after the Frenchman became the oldest man in the professional era (since 1969) to reach the last four in Auckland.
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The only seeded player remaining in the men’s draw was Jakub Mensik, who was eliminated by Nuno Borges. Borges will take on Belgian Zizou Bergs.
Order of play- Thursday, 09 January, 2025
Centre Court - start 13:00
Starts At 13:00
Gael Monfils (FRA) vs [Q] Nishesh Basavareddy (USA)
Jakub Mensik (CZE) or [7] Nuno Borges (POR) vs [Q] Zizou Bergs (BEL)
[1] Nikola Mektic (CRO) / Michael Venus (NZL) or [Alt] Pablo Carreno Busta (ESP) / Sergio Martos Gornes (ESP) vs [3] Julian Cash (GBR) / Lloyd Glasspool (GBR) or Yuki Bhambri (IND) / Albano Olivetti (FRA)
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Christian Harrison (USA) / Rajeev Ram (USA) vs [2] Maximo Gonzalez (ARG) / Andres Molteni (ARG)