World-ranked 203 Joshua Goodall fought the Czech Republic’s Tomas Zib game for game – taking a one set lead after a nail-biting tie-break, and taking four games from his opponent in sets two and three.
Goodall showed passion and power to win some spectacular points over the Czech player, serving some impressive aces and really rattling his challenger to the point that Zib was visibly, and audibly, frustrated. For much of the game it seemed that the Briton had all the luck – yet Zib was, undeniably, the stronger player. As Goodall tired, he made a series of errors, all-too-often finishing some fantastic rallies with careless shots into the net.
There was victory, too, for Australia’s hot shot no. 1 seed and world 100 Chris Guccione, who is proving unstoppable in this tournament with another win over Germany’s Dominik Meffert. Guccione clawed through a tough three-set match, each decided by a tie-break, finally showing the sort of passion, commitment and skill expected of him to wipe out his opposition 7-6(4), 6-7(1), 7-6(4). The Australian now faces Frenchman Adrian Mannarino in the semi-final, fresh from Mannarino’s swift 6-1, 6-1 defeat of Czech Republic player Tomas Cakl.
Meanwhile the last remaining Briton in the ITF ladies $10,000 dollar tournament is also out of the competition – Tara Moore lost to the overpowering Polish fourth seed Katarzyna Piter at the quarter-final stage, 6-4, 6-2.
