Hugo Gaston falls short after Hangzhou chances slip

Hugo Gaston missed the chance to reach the Hangzhou semi-finals, although his run will still lift him 11 places in the rankings. The Frenchman, back inside the Top 100 at 97th this week, will now enter qualifying for the Shanghai Masters 1000.

Andrey Rublev, the world No. 25 and second seed, recovered to beat Gaston 6-7, 7-6, 6-1 after two hours and 53 minutes. The defeat also denied Gaston revenge for his loss to the Russian in Toronto last year. Rublev advances to his sixth semi-final of the season, where he will face fellow Frenchman Kyrian Jacquet for the first time.

Gaston took the opening set after overturning a 6-1 deficit in the deciding tie-break to win it 8-6. Neither player had earned a break point before that stage. Rublev then moved 4-0 ahead in the second set, but Gaston recovered to 2-4 and later saved two set points as the Russian tried to serve out at 5-2 and 5-4. Rublev eventually took the second tie-break 7-4.

Gaston had an early break opportunity in the final set but could not convert it. Rublev then won five consecutive games to take control, eventually finishing on his fourth match point after missing one at 5-0. Gaston also required treatment for a blister on his big toe during the second-set tie-break, while Rublev bandaged fingers after striking the underside of his courtside towel box.