Crowther keeps home hopes alive at the EVES Open

Corban Crowther just keeps fighting.

The 20-year-old Tauranga local is through to the semi-finals of the men’s singles at the EVES Open – ITF World Tennis Tour: Tauranga after yet another comeback in Pāpāmoa.

Fellow Kiwis Jack Loutit and Valentina Ivanov are also through to the singles semis, and it will be an all-New Zealand men’s doubles final on Friday between Marcus Daniell and Finn Reynolds, and Reece Falck and George Stoupe.

Playing in front of his home crowd against the higher-ranked American Harrison Adams on Thursday, Crowther came back from a set down – as he has done all week in Pāpāmoa – to win the match 3-6, 6-4, 6-3.

He will now play Jacob Bradshaw from Australia in the semis. It will be Crowther’s first pro singles semi-final.

He has lost the first set in all three of his singles matches at the EVES Open this week. He changes his shirt, seems to give himself a rev up, and returns to the court firing, going on to win the next two sets and take the match.

Crowther has kept the crowd at Pāpāmoa Tennis Club in full voice all week and they will return on Friday for more. There might even be a few more of them after Thursday’s electrifying performance.

Meanwhile, Loutit beat Australian Moerani Bouzige 6-3, 6-3 in the quarters and will now play number one seed Matthew Dellavedova from Australia in the semis.

Bouzige is the second considerably higher ranked player Loutit has beaten this week.

The 19-year-old Kiwi won the doubles title at last year’s EVES Open and will now be on the hunt for a singles trophy to match.

Dellavedova had a hard-fought first set against Kiwi Isaac Becroft in the quarters on Thursday, with plenty of long rallies – one lasting as many as 70 shots.

Dellavedova eventually inched past Becroft in the first set and then ran away in the second to win the match 7-6(3), 6-2.

In the women’s singles, Ivanov beat Hikaru Sato from Japan 6-1, 6-3 to book her place in the semi-finals against Ivana Popovic from Australia.

Daniell and Reynolds, who won the ITF World Tennis Tour: Wellington title last week, continued their good run of form in the men’s doubles.

They beat Joshua Charlton from Australia and Emile Hudd from Great Britain in the semi-final 6-2, 7-5.

They will now play Falck and Stoupe in the final, after the Kiwi pair ended the fourth day of the EVES Open by putting on another incredible comeback performance for the crowd on centre court.

After losing the first set 2-6 to Australia's Cade Birrell and Bouzige, Falck and Stoupe won the second 6-2, and then the super tiebreak 10-6.

Friday promises to be another action-packed day for New Zealand at the EVES Open.

This is a professional event for women (W25) and men (M15) with official WTA and ATP world ranking points and a total prize pool of US$40,000.

The EVES Open is being held from 17-23 December at Pāpāmoa Tennis Club, which is located at the Venture Developments WBOP Tennis Centre in Gordon Spratt Reserve.