LAS VEGAS, Nev. — Ivan Savkin won for a third straight day on Friday to advance to the semifinals of the Mountain West Fall Championships presented by Palm Casino Resort. The seventh-seeded Savkin needed only an hour and 15 minutes to upset second-seeded Nikos Lehmann of Grand Canyon in a 6-4, 6-4 straight set victory. Savkin will face sixth-seeded Andres Loizas of Grand Canyon in a semifinal Saturday at 9:30 a.m. PT.
"It was a great win for Ivan today," head coach Eric Steidlmayer said. "I'm very excited for him to be in a semifinal at the Mountain West Championships. His mental toughness over the last month has been the best of his career, and it shows."
Each player was broken in their first service game in the opening set but there were only two service breaks after that both by Savkin to go ahead 4-3 in the first set and 2-1 in the second. Savkin lost only five service points in the second set and one day after needing eight match points to finally claim the victory, Savik successfully converted his first match point Friday.
Additional information about the event can be found by visiting the Mountain West Championships Central.
The singles and doubles champions from the five-day Mountain West Fall Championships that conclude Sunday will represent the league at the ITA Conference Masters Championships Nov. 5-8 in Rome, Georgia.
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For more information, visit ucdavisaggies.com.
