Winner this week of his first three matches at Challengers level, Jürgen Briand had an unforgettable week in Mouilleron-le-Captif (Vendée). The 487th in the world successively dismissed Richard Gasquet (87th, 6-2, 7-5), Mathias Bourgue (417th, 5-7, 6-4, 6-3) and Tomas Machac (110th, 6-3, 1-6 , 6-3) to reach his first semi-final.
But the French stopped there on Saturday. No doubt short of fuel, manipulated by the physiotherapist in the heart of the second set, he very logically lost (6-2, 6-3), once morest the Dutchman Jelle Sels (173rd).
Briand not far from the 400th place in the world on Monday
The break suffered from the very first game sums up the game well. Not consistent enough on his second balls (only 36% of points won), Briand gave up his service five times. And only managed a break to come back to 2-2 in the second set.
More regular, with a forehand that slaps well, Sels never doubted and made the hierarchy of the classification prevail. This semi-final will allow the French to point Monday around the 400th place in the world.
