ATP Rio: Auger-Aliassime, Djere, Cuevas and Bedene stay in title chase
The 23-year-old Serb Laslo Djere is through to his fourth ATP semi-final in a career, defeating 2017 Rio de Janeiro semi-finalist Casper Ruud 6-4, 7-5 in an hour and 36 minutes. Laslo opened the tournament with a win over Dominic Thiem and he will now try to reach the first ATP final, ousting the Norwegian with a better performance on both the first and second serve and with 31 winners and 25 unforced errors. Ruud had 14 winners and 20 errors, leading 5-2 in set number two before Djere won the last five games to secure the place in the semis, winning ten points more than his rival.
They traded breaks in games one and four before Laslo grabbed another one in game seven when Ruud's backhand landed long, serving well in games seven and nine for a 6-3. Casper bounced back at the beginning of the second set, breaking at love in game two when Djere netted a forehand and opening a 5-2 lead after saving two break points in game seven. Laslo broke back in the very last moment when Casper sent a slice long, building the momentum and scoring another break at 5-5 with a forehand drive-volley winner, sealing the deal with a forehand winner in game 12 to advance into the last four.
There, Laslo will play against the Slovenian Aljaz Bedene who came from a set down to topple the Bolivian Hugo Dellien who scored the first ATP wins this week in Rio. Aljaz prevailed 4-6, 6-2, 6-3 in two hours and 23 minutes, saving nine out of 11 break points and stealing Hugo's serve on four occasions to book the place in the last four for the first time since Budapest in 2018. Hugo grabbed the first break in the fifth game and played well to keep the advantage, sealing the opener with a volley winner in game ten.
Aljaz took charge in set number two, dropping three points on serve and breaking Dellien in games four and eight for a 6-2, pulling an early break back in set number three to move 5-3 up, saving two break points on serve in the next game to cement the triumph. Receiving the main draw wild card, an 18-year-old Felix Auger-Aliassime is having a dream run in Rio de Janeiro so far, beating Fabio Fognini, Christian Garin and Jaume Munar to become the first player born in 2000 in an ATP semi-final! Felix needed an hour and 38 minutes to oust the young Spaniard 6-4, 6-3, losing serve three times but scoring six games from ten opportunities to emerge as the winner and move into the last four.
The Canadian showed his incredible reflexes and speed in the third game to break Munar with a backhand winner, forging a 4-1 lead with another break in game five. They broke each other in the next three games as well (five breaks of serve in six games) before Auger-Aliassime fastened the opener with an ace in game ten for a 6-4. Munar fought back to level the score at 3-3 in the second set but he lost five straight points on serve in game seven, with Felix moving 4-3 up with a smash winner. A service winner pushed the Canadian 5-3 in front and the win was in his hands after a forehand crosscourt winner in game nine that propelled him into the semis.
from Tennis World USA https://ift.tt/2Nn5IKv
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