Grasshopper Cup: Makin Sinks Masotti in Three to Reach Final

Joel Makin kept his hopes of winning a first ever PSA Tour Gold event alive, beating Baptiste Masotti 3-0 in the Grasshopper Cup semi-finals. 

Makin’s only previous appearance in a final at this level came at the GillenMarkets Canary Wharf Classic earlier this year, when he was beaten by Paul Coll, but he will now have a second shot at glory in Zurich. 

Playing the dangerous Masotti – who was coming off an impressive win over Mostafa Asal – Makin was his usual resilient self, dragging the Frenchman around the court with his relentless style. 

He produced a flash of brilliance with a cross-court nick on the backhand at 8-6 up in the first, taking the game a few points later after a well-placed trickle boast. 

Masotti started game two with a pair of winners, the second on a cross-court nick of his own, but Makin remained patient as he so often does, winning 11-6 as the Frenchman’s frustrations grew. 

Chasing the match, Masotti’s game became more expansive in the third, but with it grew his error count, playing into the Welshman’s hands. 

At 7-4 down, Masotti missed a golden opportunity to close the gap, drilling a front-court backhand into the tin with Makin still recovering from a dive and the court gaping. 

A stroke handed the No.5 seed victory just inside the hour, his third straight-games win of the week, and speaking after the match, he was pleased to have had such an efficient tournament so far. 

“This is what I’ve been targeting doing,” he said. 

“It’s nice when you get a week where you put it together, and I haven’t had to exhaust myself too much to get to this point. I’ve got a big effort in me tomorrow. I really want to win one of these and this is as good a chance as any. 

“Normally when I get to this point in tournaments, I’ve had 100 minutes three times by now. The best-of-threes helped, it gets me in a good frame of mind and gets me playing well.

“I’ve managed to get rid of Baptiste who had a 3-2 with Paul [Coll] last week and beat Asal this week week. I was aware that that could’ve been dangerous.”

A popular topic of conversation this week has been the warm and bouncy conditions of the court, something Makin discussed post-match. 

“The rallies might become more attritional, but on a colder court you can use the front court and use your speed,” he said. 

“People get the perception that a hot court suits an attritional player but not always. James Willstrop is as dangerous as anyone on a bouncy court just because he can keep putting the ball exactly where he wants it. 

“I didn’t hit spots going forward as I’d want to and I felt a straight drop wasn’t coming off my strings as I wanted.  

“I knew I just had to keep placing them in there and dragging them out. By the third game he had to play a bit more speculatively because he’d been worked hard by that point.”

Result:

[5] Joel Makin (WAL) bt [7] Baptiste Masotti (FRA) 3-0: 11-8, 11-6, 11-5 (56m)