Watch: Andreas Seppi Saves Five Match Points in Dramatic Zhuhai Breaker with China’s Zhang Zhizhen
Not one. Not two. Or three four four. Italy’s Andreas Seppi saved five set points in a third-set tiebreaker to break the heart of China’s No.1 Zhang Zhizhen on Thursday at Zhuhai.Zhang certainly had his opportunities. The Chinese had an opening on his third match point but Seppi pulled out shotmaking brilliance, executing a backhand flick crosscourt to steal the point. On the next point Zhang had a mid-court sitter but he didn’t do enough with it and Seppi rifled a backhand pass to level at six-all.Three points later Zhang had another match point on Seppi’s serve but the Chinese missed a forehand wide.Finally Seppi nailed a forehand winner to clinch his victory, 7-6(4) 4-6 7-6(8) in two hours and 43 minutes.Zhang, who was playing his first ATP-level main draw of the year, owns a 23-13 record on the challenger circuit this season. He defeated World No.85 Dominik Koepfer in the opening round at Zhuhai. ]]>
