The final tiebreaker was a heartbreaker for Donald Young. The 11th-seeded American fought off three match points late in the third set, then held a pair of match points in the third-set tiebreaker, only to see Guillermo Garcia-Lopez fight back for a 6-7 (4), 6-3, 7-6 (6) victory in Winston-Salem.
Down 4-5 in the third set, Young saved his third match point with a leaping stab overhead from behind the baseline that Garcia-Lopez could not handle. Young built a 6-4 lead in the breaker, but could not close. He double-faulted on his second match point as the fifth-seeded Spaniard, who had lost five straight tiebreakers, won the final four points to close a gripping win.
"At the end today, I got lucky," said Garcia-Lopez, who held off Young in five sets at Roland Garros last spring. "Sometimes the tiebreaker is a lottery, and I got the number. That's why I won.''
Garcia-Lopez will play Sam Querrey next. Querrey toppled second-seeded Kevin Anderson, 7-6 (4), 6-4, continuing a trend in their rivalry. Seven of their 11 career meetings have featured first-set tiebreakers, and the winner of each one has gone on to win the match.
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