New Zealand doubles player Artem Sitak has battled his way into the semi finals at the ATP tennis tournament in Estoril.
A day after knocking out the third seeds, Sitak and his Dutch partner Wesley Koolhof beaten the Portuguese wildcard pairing of Gastao Elias and Pedro Sousa 7-6 (2) 4-610-8 in the quarter finals.
It was a tight match in blustery conditions from the outset with neither combination managing a break in the first set although Sitak and Koolhof created three chances against their opponents serve. The set went to a tie breaker which Sitak and Koolhof clinched comfortably.
Although Sitak and Koolhof continued to create opportunities against their opponents in the second set they managed to convert just one of five breaks while Elias and Sousa broke twice to level the match up and force a super tie breaker.
It went down to the wire with Sitak and Koolhof clinching the win on their first match point in 1 hr 29.
"It was very difficult to play today, the wind was very gusty and strong," Sitak said. "All we had to do is wait for an opportunity and after we took that first set in the tie break. They came up with some big shots and big returns to level it."
"The match tie break was high quality, our serve worked really well and we are happy with that we got a very difficult tight win."
The points accumulated so far this week will lift Sitak back to the cusp of the world's top 50 in the ATP rankings and if the pair can win their semi final, he will rise back inside the top 50.
Sitak and Koolhof will face the unseeded pair of Frenchman Jonathan Eysseric and Britain's Joe Salisbury tomorrow night for a place in the final after they upset the top seeds John Peers and Jean-Julien Rojer 6-4, 7-6.
