Martin Klizan's perfect record in ATP finals will be tested by top-seeded Dominic Thiem in the St. Petersburg Open decider.
Klizan is 6-0 in finals, including a win in St. Petersburg six years ago, and the Slovak is coming off a victory at the Austrian Open last month.
Klizan ended Stan Wawrinka's latest bid on Saturday for a first title since his return from a knee injury. Klizan bounced back from losing the first set of their semifinal to beat Wawrinka 4-6, 6-3, 7-5.
Dominic Thiem of Austria returns the ball to Roberto Bautista of Spain during the St. Petersburg Open ATP tennis tournament semi final match in St.Petersburg, Russia, Saturday, Sept. 22, 2018. (AP PhotoDmitry Lovetsky)
Thiem defeated Roberto Bautista Agut, the big-hitting Austrian firing in 15 aces on his way to reaching his fifth final of the season.
Thiem is 10-7 in career finals and 2-2 this season, most recently losing the Roland Garros final to Rafael Nadal.
More AP sports: https://apnews.com/tag/apf-sports and https://twitter.com/AP_Sports
Stan Wawrinka of Switzerland returns the ball to Martin Klizan of Slovakia during the St. Petersburg Open ATP tennis tournament semi final match in St.Petersburg, Russia, Saturday, Sept. 22, 2018. (AP PhotoDmitry Lovetsky)
Roberto Bautista of Spain returns the ball to Dominic Thiem of Austria during the St. Petersburg Open ATP tennis tournament semi final match in St.Petersburg, Russia, Saturday, Sept. 22, 2018. (AP PhotoDmitry Lovetsky)
MANCHESTER, England (AP) — Blowing late leads has become a hallmark of Manchester United's season.
Erik ten Hag hopes that changes when Liverpool comes to Old Trafford on Sunday. United is still clinging to hopes of a Champions League spot, despite a stunning 4-3 loss to Chelsea on Thursday night.
United first gave away the lead in the 10th minute of stoppage time at Stamford Bridge and then the game a minute later — both goals coming from Cole Palmer.
That followed a blown lead in a 1-1 draw at Brentford last Saturday. United had just recovered from celebrating Mason Mount's goal in the 96th when Kristoffer Ajer tied it three minutes later.
“We can beat the best teams in the Premier League,” Ten Hag said. “When you beat them in the Premier League, you can do it across Europe, but we need to learn how you win games ... how you bring games over the line and get the three points. We have to step up."
Dropping five points in the past two games is “very expensive,” he added.
“Games are running out. We know that and we have to catch up and we are now many points behind,” Ten Hag said. “It will be difficult. We will keep fighting.”
With eight games remaining, United is nine points behind fifth-place Tottenham and 11 points back of fourth-place Aston Villa. Because of a format change to the Champions League next season, the Premier League might get a fifth spot in Europe's elite club competition.
Blowing leads is not a new problem.
United exited the Champions League at the group stage — in last place. They gave away second-half leads in three of those games: a 3-2 home loss to Galatasaray; a 4-3 defeat at Copenhagen; and a 3-3 draw at Galatasaray.
The good news? United has actually closed out a big win recently — over Liverpool 4-3 after extra time in a thrilling FA Cup quarterfinal match. Marcus Rashford tied it at 3-3 before Amad Diallo's winner at Old Trafford.
Liverpool manager Jurgen Klopp pointed to uncharacteristic errors that they'll need to avoid this time.
“We were really good that day but didn’t finish the situations off in extra time,” Klopp said. “We made mistakes we didn’t make before at all. We better play a really good football game to be honest, if we want something there.”
First-place Liverpool holds a two-point lead over Arsenal heading into the weekend.
AP soccer: https://apnews.com/hub/soccer
Manchester United's head coach Erik ten Hag gives instructions from the side line during the English Premier League soccer match between Chelsea and Manchester United at Stamford Bridge in London, Thursday, April 4, 2024. (AP Photo/Kin Cheung)
Manchester United players react after referee award a penalty to Chelsea during the English Premier League soccer match between Chelsea and Manchester United at Stamford Bridge in London, Thursday, April 4, 2024. (AP Photo/Kin Cheung)
