Saturday´s results in Challenger Tour: Krueger, Whittington, Purcell and Ivashka all made their first finals

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* Binghamton, USA, $50,000 (Outdoor Hard) : 22-year-old American Mitchell Krueger will play in his first Challenger final after 6-2 6-4 win over his coeval Ramkumar Ramanathan. In his previous match, Ramanathan stayed on the court for more than 2 and a half hours and he probably wasn't fully ready for Krueger's test.

Krueger lost only 11 points on his serve, saving both break points he faced, and he was also very solid on the return, breaking Ramanathan 3 times to keep the result under his control all the time. American started strong, taking the first 4 games of the match, and soon it stood 6-2 on the scoreboard.

He was in a very nice rhythm on serve, losing only 4 points and giving no chance to Ramanathan to even think about breaking back. After those early breaks he suffered, Ramkumar was toe to toe with his rival, keeping the active result until the middle of the second set.

We can even say that he was the better player in those games, missing 2 break points in the 2nd game of the second set, but he was unable to make that finishing move. Krueger secured his victory when he took Ramanathan's serve in game 7, to bring the match home 3 games later.

Back in 2014, Darian King reached his first Challenger quarter-final here in Binghampton, obviously loving to play here, and he is now in his second Challenger final in a row, following his first title in Cali 2 weeks ago.

King came from behind against Andrey Golubev, ousting him by 1-6 6-1 6-3. It wasn't the best match we could get, with both players struggling to keep the pace on their serve and 9 breaks overall. Golubev had more chances but King played better in the most important points, also helped by 7 double faults from Golubev.

King had the worst possible opening of the match, losing his serve in all 4 games after winning just 10 points in those games. Golubev, on the other hand, served just like he wanted, and he clinched the opener 6-1 in no time at all.

Things changed completely in the second set, this time, King was the dominant force, taking it 6-1 and forcing a deciding set. A player from Barbados lost only 5 points on serve and broke Golubev 3 times. Also, he was now in the better position to win the match, as the momentum was completely on his side.

The best tennis from each player was seen in the final set, with 7 easy holds, and King made a move in game 8, breaking for 5-3 lead and closing the match in the following game, after saving a break point. Semi-final results: Mitchell Krueger (USA) vs Ramkumar Ramanathan (IND) 6-2 6-4 [1:15]
[6]Darian King (BAR) vs [9]Andrey Golubev (KAZ) 1-6 6-1 6-3 [1:33]
* Gimcheon, South Korea, $50,000 (Outdoor Hard) : It will be an all-Aussie final in Gimcheon (the first since Canberra 2015), with Andrew Whittington and Max Purcell advancing to the title match.

Whittington bested 7th seed from China, Zhe Li, by 6-1 7-6 in just under an hour and a half, for his first Challenger final. He was more constant on his serve, both first and second, losing serve just once. Li was in danger every time he would miss the first serve, getting broken 3 times.

Chinese player wasted 4 game points in his initial service game, having to chase the result from the beginning, and Andrew sealed the set with another break in game 6. The second set produced a much closer battle, with Li getting in front for the first time with a break in game 4.

He couldn't confirm it, though, despite 2 game points for a 4-1 lead, as Whittington broke back to keep the positive score until the tie break. At 2-2, Whittington has won 5 out of next 6 points to clinch the match and avoid the final set.

Two teenagers were fighting in the other semi-final, in what has been the best tournament in a career so far for both Max Purcell and Soon Woo Kwon. In the end, it was Purcell who got through to the final by 6-3 6-4, playing in only his 3rd Challenger tournament and making the main draw through qualifications.

Sydney native used better both the first and the second serve, but it was Korean who had more break points, 6 in total, converting 2 of them. Purcell took advantage of his chances, making 4 breaks from 5 opportunities, and he will have a chance to become the first player born in 1998 with Challenger title! Max saved two break points in the first part of the first set and went on to break his rival in game 6, which was enough to take the opening set 6-3.

It looked that the match will not last for too long, with Purcell breaking 3 times to raced into a 5-0 lead in the second set, only to lose the next 4 games, as Kwon pulled back 2 breaks. Serving for the match for the 3rd time, Purcell manages to hold and to propel himself into the final, which is really a great achievement for a young player ranked 762nd.

Semi-final results: [6]Andrew Whittington (AUS) vs [7]Zhe Li (CHN) 6-1 7-6(3) [1:28]
[Q]Max Purcell (AUS) vs Soon Woo Kwon (KOR) 6-3 6-4 [1:08]
More results on the next page.. ALSO READ: Friday´s results in Challenger Tour: Mitchell last American standing in Binghampton. 3 teens in Gimcheon last 8