By Chris Oddo | @TheFanChild | Friday November 10, 2023
The rising Russian continues to make a mark on the ATP Tour - he defeated Pierre-Hugues Herbert to reach the final in Metz.
Photo Source: TTV
The dream season of Alexander Shevchenko continues at Metz. The 22-year-old edged home favorite Pierre-Hugues Herbert 6-4, 6-4 on Friday at the Moselle Open to book his maiden ATP final.
Shevchenko, ranked 63 but slated to make his Top-50 debut next week, will face either Fabio Fognini or Ugo Humbert in the final. He converted four of seven break points and won 71 percent of his second serve points to improve to 16-16 on the season.
“I think I was staying aggressive in this match, because Pierre is very dangerous,” Shevchenko said after the match. “He’s such a good player at the net. He’s a really good returner and you have to stay focused all the time because he can break you every time.”
The Russian was ranked 154 when the season began, but he has become a revelation in the second half of the 2023 season. He achieved his first career Top-10 win at Basel, defeating Taylor Fritz en roue to the quarterfinal.
This week he earned his second career Top-20 win as he took out third-seeded Karen Khachanov in the quarterfinals.
“I’m in the final of an ATP event – for me, it’s incredible,” Shevchenko said. “You go to sleep with this dream, you wake up with a dream – today I made it, of course it’s very tough, and I’m going to enjoy every moment of it.”