Mischa Zverev upsets Bjorn Fratangelo to reach final at Sarasota Open

LAKEWOOD RANCH -- The mini-meltdown for Bjorn Fratangelo started when he flubbed a drop shot and was frustrated enough in his own play to fire a ball as far out of play as he could after dropping a pivotal point in the second set of his semifinal match against Mischa Zverev in the Sarasota Open.

Moments later, he sent a ball flying over the fence and into the overstretching tree limbs lining the edge of the main court at the Lakewood Ranch Athletic and Tennis Center.

After that, the sixth-seeded American bowed out of the ATP Challenger Tour event, falling to Zverev 6-2, 6-4. The unseeded German continued his unlikely run into Sunday's championship match.

"I'm not a big hitter, so I try to use the court and try to be patient. I think it worked out OK today," Zverev said. "I felt like it was too my advantage."

Zverev advances to face third-seeded Gerald Melzer, who topped Guilherme Clezar, 6-7, 6-4, 3-2 when the Brazilian was forced to retire because of a muscle injury.

Lakewood Ranch's Gia Cohen will play in the women's final against IMG Academy's Katerina Kozarov. Cohen, who lost in the Class 4A state tournament earlier this week, beat Saint Stephen's MaryAnn Rompf 1-6, 6-4, 10-4 in Saturday's semi

finals. Kozarov, a Serbia native, beat Out-of-Door Academy's Maria Ross 7-6, 2-4 when Ross retired.

The women's singles final is scheduled for 11:30 a.m. The men's doubles title is scheduled for 1 p.m., and the men's singles final follows immediately after.

Neither the men's doubles nor singles will feature an American with Fratangelo's exit.

The Pittsburgh native fell behind 3-0 in the opening game and was never able to dig out of the hole.

He dropped the first set 6-2 and blew too many opportunities in the second to overcome Zverev.

His drop shot error allowed Zverev even the second set at 3. Two games later, he ended a long rally by hitting the ball into the net, tying the set at 4. This time he tossed his racket. Fratangelo didn't win another game.

"Overall, he's a very aggressive player. He has a big forehand, so he tries to use that," Zverev said. "I try to read his game very well, I try to like anticipate where he's going to hit the forehand, so I can get there and try to make him hit an extra shot. It worked out great."

The doubles championship which precedes the singles final features one team of Argentines, and one with an El Salvadorian and a Peruvian.

Argentinians Facundo Arguello and Nicholas Kicker topped South Africans Dean O'Brien and Ruan Roelofse 6-2, 4-6, 10-6 in one semifinal.

El Salvadorian Marcelo Arevalo and Peruvian Sergio Galdos beat American Dennis Novikov and Chilean Julio Peralta 3-6, 6-3, 11-9, in the other.

After grinding out a win Saturday, Melzer will have a chance for a career milestone with a win in the final.

"I don't want to look at points and do the math, but if I win tomorrow I think I'll be in the top 100, so it's a big match," Melzer said. "Somebody who can win a tournament like this could do also well on the ATP (World) Tour."

David Wilson, Herald sports writer, can be contacted at 941-745-7057 or on Twitter @DBWilson2.

This story was originally published April 16, 2016 at 12:00 AM with the headline "Mischa Zverev upsets Bjorn Fratangelo to reach final at Sarasota Open ."