The highest ranked players at the Apis Canberra International tennis event made their way into the final after defeating their semifinal opponents.
Taro Daniel faced Alex Bolt in the first semifinal at the Apis Canberra International Tennis Tournament. (Photo by Rob Keating, http://photos.keatingmedia.com.au) @tarodaniel93
First up on centre court was Japan’s Taro Daniel who took on Alex Bolt. Daniel is the second seed, but after Jordan Thompson withdrew at the start of the tournament, became the top-ranked player in the tournament at 104 at the time of entries. Thompson was ranked at 77.
Alex Bolt at the Apis Canberra International tennis event. (Photo by Rob Keating, http://photos.keatingmedia.com.au)
Bolt, ranked at 230, was competitive in the first set against Daniel and took it to a tie-break where Daniel comfortably took the first set. Perhaps feeling let down, Bolt could not match Daniel in the second set and the Japanese player pulled away to advance to the final with a 7-6(2), 6-2 victory.
Matt Ebden hits a backhand during the third set in the men’s semifinal (Photo by Rob Keating)
In the second semifinal, Matt Ebden faced last years finalist, Marc Polmans. Despite being ranked almost 200 places behind Ebden, Polmans could have defeated Ebden. Polmans took the first set 7-5, but then went off track in the second and he started missing some easy shots as Ebden pushed to level the match. Ebden took the set easily, 6-1.
Marc Polmans stretches for the ball as he plays a single-handed backhand in the men’s semifinal against Matt Ebden. (Photo by Rob Keating, http://photos.keatingmedia.com.au)
In the deciding set Ebden got an early break and maintained the pressure on Polmans with consistent play. Polmans is known as a fighter and he worked hard to try to get back on serve and had a break point in the fifth game, but was not able to convert. Ebden did not give his opponent another look at a break point and went on to claim victory with a 5-7, 6-1, 6-4 victory.
