Almaty: Daniil Medvedev continued his defence of the Almaty Open title as he marched into the semifinals at the ATP 250 event with a win over France’s Terence Atmane 6-4, 6-4 here.
Medvedev put up a strong performance, using the depth of the court to the full extent and nailing the first serves. He won 91% of the first-serve points for a staggering 31 of the 34 points won on it, while he also broke the Frenchman twice without losing his serve. He also fired in 24 winners, while Atmane nailed 14.
“It is not easy to play against Terence,” Medvedev said after the win. “Big serve, big shots. I had to stay in the match and found some good passing shots and good winners.”
Greek tennis star Stefanos Tsitsipas also marched into the semifinals with a win over Australian James Duckworth 6-3, 6-4 in the quarterfinals.
Tsitsipas is hunting for his second ATP title of the season and will be facing Georgian qualifier Nikoloz Basilashvili next. Basilashvili defeated Adrian Mannarino 6-3, 6-1 in his quarterfinal. This is also Tsitsipas’ first semifinal appearance on the hard courts since February 2025.
Meanwhile, Medvedev is having a strong season on the hard courts as he has won all three of his titles on the surface in Brisbane, Dubai, and Hangzhou. He is hunting for his fourth title this season and will be facing either third-seed Alexander Bublik or fifth-seed Karen Khachanov next in Almaty.
The victory has also boosted the World No.5’s chances to qualify for the ATP Finals. He sits in sixth place in the ATP Live Race To Turin with 3520 points and 640 points ahead of the 10th-placed Alex de Minaur. With Jannik Sinner out of the season, the ninth-placed player in the Race to Turin will earn the spot for the year-end finals. IANS
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