For 30 minutes, those in which he fought to win the first set, Christo Popov believed in it. The first tricolor in history to play in a semi-final of a Super 1000, this Saturday during the English Open, the 24th player in the world however lost against the Indonesian Anthony Sinisuka Ginting, 5th in the world (19 -21, 21-5, 21-11). The first act of the match was however fiercely contested. If Popov saw his lead diminish over the course of the round and even fell behind by several points, he regained the lead and pushed his opponent to make mistakes to take the first set.
Too big a difference
The face of the game then changed. Less fair and author of more mistakes, the Frenchman struggled to keep up with the pace imposed by Ginting. Quickly dropped in the second set, he wanted to let the storm pass to remobilize for the third set. But here too, the gap was too large (21-11), enough to allow the Indonesian to qualify for the final.
Popov won the first World Tour title of his career at the German Open two weeks ago. This new big performance brings him even closer to participation in the Paris Olympics where he is fighting with his brother for the only ticket to the men’s individual tournament. The verdict is scheduled for May 1.
2024-03-16 12:38:00
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