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Paris Masters -- Quarterfinals
First up was Elder attempting to end things against Goncharenko. It was easy to see the Russian was playing for more here, and an up-and-down match eventually led to the most dramatic of conclusions, a deciding-set tiebreak. Both players had points to win it, and it could have gone other way, but Goncharenko pulled out the upset 6-3, 1-6, 7-6(7). Elder had the more dominant set of the first two and one more point overall, but didn't finish quite well enough. The role of spoiler was still open.
Iglar had similar problems with Topolski, but when it came time for the third set there, he put on a dominant display. That final came to 6-2, 3-6, 6-1. Really just a letdown there in the second set, but either way Topolski can only wait and hope the odds fall his way.
For the second day in a row, Mehul had the last important match of the day, taking on Benda with the same scenario; he needed to win, or else his fate was in Goncharenko's hands. The German #1 would be a tougher obstacle than yesterday's opponent, and would be looking for a bit of payback after Stockholm. The tone was set right away, with Benda winning the first five points. The first set was quick, and while Mehul put up more of a fight in the second, a one-sided 6-1, 6-3 defeat was not what he had in mind here. With a fresher, champion opponent on the other side of the net, this loss isn't shameful by any measure, but it did take things out of his hands.
Evgeni Topolski qualified as 7th player officially, and the semifinal between Iglar and Viktor Goncharenko would determine the 8th. If Goncharenko won, he was in; otherwhise Mehul would be. The long season had come down to this, as dramatic a finish as one could ask for but he could only sit and watch now for this one.
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