'%20x='0'%20y='0'%20height='100%25'%20width='100%25'%20%0A%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20xlink%3Ahref='data:image/jpg;base64,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'%3E%3C/image%3E%3C/svg%3E)
Fourth seed Adrian Mannarino of France beat Yannick Hanfmann 7-6(4) 6-4 in the semifinals of the Mallorca Open on Friday, June 30. The match lasted nearly two hours, as the 35-year-old Frenchman prevailed with a controlled performance.
Hanfmann, who was coming off the back of a couple of resounding wins against Stefanos Tsitsipas and Feliciano Lopez, could not produce a similar performance against Mannarino. The Frenchman will face Christopher Eubanks of the United States, who is also enjoying a rich vein of form, in the final on Saturday.
On that note, let's take a look at two things that stood out in the match:
#1 Mannarino’s crosscourt forehand consistently troubled Hanfmann
Mannarino, a southpaw, kept troubling Hanfmann with his crosscourt forehand directed at the latter’s backhand. The German struggled to deal with it, as the Frenchman hit a number of winners with the shot.
Mannarino broke Hanfmann twice in the first set, but the German did well to break back and take the set into a tie-break. However, the Frenchman then won the tie-break 7-4 to draw first blood and put his opponent under pressure. Mannarino moved well and hit his shots with enough accuracy to hold the upper hand in the set.
#2 Hanfmann’s groundstrokes lacked power
Hanfmann was a bit insipid in his shotmaking and struggled to hit through the Frenchman. The German relied a lot on his backhand slices from the baseline, which allowed Mannarino plenty of time to set up his shots.
Hanfmann ventured forward to the net regularly but the World No. 43 managed to pass him on a number of occasions. As a result, the Frenchman dictated terms during most of the second set as well. Hanfmann did well to hold his serve in his first four service games, but Mannarino succeeded in breaking him in the 10th game and thereby seal the fate of the match.
Mannarino won 70% of the points on his first serve, while Hanfmann managed only 60%. That proved to be decisive in the end.
The Frenchman now faces a daunting task in the final, as Eubanks is on a dream run at the moment. However, Mannarino’s experience might make the difference on Saturday, as the Frenchman will be eyeing his third ATP singles title.
