There are two surprising semifinals in Zagreb.
The surprise didn’t come from the seed on.1 Tommy Haas or the defending champion Marin Cilic, but by their opponents.
Haas – Evans
After beating the qualifier and world no. 142 Alex Kuznetov in the quarters (7-6 (0) 6-4), Tommy will play world no. 147 Daniel Evans (lucky loser) in the semifinal.
Tommy is still very cautious about his next match to comment “It’s always dangerous. he’s feeling good beating a top player today in Philipp Kohlschreiber. I will have to focus on my game and see what I can do to make him feel less comfortable. I expect a tough match and I need to stay strong and focused.”
Cilic – Phau
Marin had a good win against this friend and compatriot Ivan Dodig (7-5 6-4) and now he should have an easy task against world no.349 Bjorn Phau that defeated Evans in the qualifications. Talking about his next match the Croat said “I have never played Bjorn before. He has played really well, coming through qualifying. He is really explosive and fast on the court, so I will have to focus on my game and look for some opportunities.”
The final?
Well Haas and Cilic are the favourites, but Tommy is struggling with his shoulder, so Evans may have a shot at upset the German. The Brit is also playing a great tennis and he has recently beaten top players such as Querrey in the Davis Cup and Kohlschreiber in Zagreb, so the confidence is there.
