DELRAY BEACH–
Most people think of Andreas Seppi as being able to pull off the occasional upset on the biggest stages in tennis, but what’s most impressive about the Italian is his longevity on tour.
Seppi, who turned pro in 2002, has finished in the top 100 thirteen out of the past fourteen seasons. Nothing he does on the court will blow you away, but he’s just a consummate professional.
Surprisingly enough, this is Andreas Seppi’s first appearance at the Delray Beach Open. He advanced to the quarterfinals today with a 6-3 4-6 6-1 win over Australia’s Jordan Thompson. Seppi was leading 6-3 4-1 before Thompson rallied off five straight games to take the second set. ” I was leading 4-1, pretty comfortable and then I played a few bad games.”
Seppi also mentioned the difficulty in adjusting to the tricky conditions in Delray Beach. “I was playing last week in Europe, and now I’m playing outdoors with humidity and wind, so it’s not easy, but I have to believe, and I’m happy to be in the quarterfinals.” Seppi reached the second round in Rotterdam last week before falling to eventual tournament winner Gael Monfils.
With so much attention on the ATP NextGen players, veterans on tour like Andreas Seppi seem to fly under the radar. Everyone is aware of Roger Federer defying the odds of still playing high-quality tennis at the tail end of his career, but at the age of 34, Seppi is doing enough to be able to get into the big events week in and week out. His style of play is parallel to his career trajectory as he doesn’t have too many strengths or weaknesses and can play on every surface.
Seppi has three career ATP tour-level titles, all on different surfaces. His last title came in 2012 at the Kremlin Cup in Russia where he defeated Thomaz Belluci in three sets. He also started this season reaching the finals in Sydney before falling to hometown favorite Alex de Minaur.
He has to like his chances of advancing one step further this week after his draw opened up with Frances Tiafoe’s loss. The defending champion Tiafoe fell to Daniel Evans in the first round last night. Seppi will now face the winner of Evans and South Africa’s Lloyd Harris for a spot in Saturday’s semifinal.
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