Goffin recovers from one set down and moves on to the semis

The belgian player was capable of coming out from a one set disadvantage to Malek Jaziri in the longest match of the tournament so far. Stefanos Tsitsipas will be his next opponent on Saturday's semis.

The second quarter-finals match of Millennium Estoril Open's fifth edition put face to face two players both with a poor season, but motivated by their performance this week. Last wild card and fourth seed Goffin had got into the eight best group after overcoming the defending champion João Sousa; on the other hand, Malek Jaziri, the oldest player in the singles draw, was playing his second quarter-finals of the season (after Pune, in the first beginning of the year). 

Two hours and 36 minutes was how long this rollercoaster endured. Goffin had a great start with an early break, but Jaziri promptly replied breaking his serve twice and closed the first set 6-4. In the second, both players were having a lot of trouble holding their serves, with many breaks being conceded and also two set points wasted by the belgian. Goffin took the fight to a deciding third set after winning the tie-break 7-4. The final set was the most uneven of them all, probably due to the physical issues faced by the tunisian, whom asked for medical assistance twice, still not avoiding the 6-2.

The world number 25 (and former number seven) is the second semifinalist to be found in the singles draw and will meet first seed Stefanos Tsitsipas, curiously after their encounter in Marseille semis last February. Head-to-head between the two is leaded by the greek, with three wins out of five, though Goffin has won the only clay court match, at 2018 Monte Carlo Masters 1000.