Finland’s Emil Ruusuvuori finally got past Jannik Sinner, defeating the Italian No. 2 seed 6-3, 6-4 in the quarterfinals of the Libema Open on Friday in ‘s-Hertogenbosch, Netherlands.
Ruusuvuori had been 0-5 against Sinner before breaking through to reach his first grass-court semifinal. He did not lose any points on his first serve (29 of 29) or face a break point in the 81-minute match.
Ruusuvuori’s next opponent will be No. 6 seed Tallon Griekspoor. The Dutchman rallied for a 4-6, 6-3, 6-4 win over No. 4 Alex De Minaur of Australia.
The other semifinalists are Australia’s Rinky Hijikata and Jordan Thompson, who both survived three-set battles. Hijikata was a 5-7, 6-3, 6-1 winner over Mackenzie McDonald and Thompson took out France’s Adrian Mannarino 5-7, 7-6 (2), 6-2.
Boss Open
No. 3 seed Frances Tiafoe advanced to his maiden semifinal on grass with a hard-fought 6-7 (6), 7-6 (4), 6-2 victory against No. 6 Lorenzo Musetti of Italy in Stuttgart, Germany.
After squandering three set points in the first set, Tiafoe finished the two-hour, 42-minute battle with 45 winners to just 13 unforced errors. Musetti struck 17 aces and tallied 42 winners and 13 unforced errors.
Tiafoe will next face unseeded Marton Fucsovics of Hungary, a 6-4, 7-5 victor against No. 2 seed Taylor Fritz.
Germany’s Jan-Lennard Struff and No. 4 seed Hubert Hurkacz of Poland will face off in the other semifinal. Struff handled Frenchman Richard Gasquet 6-4, 7-5 and Hurkacz eliminated Australia’s Christopher O’Connell 6-4, 6-4.
–Field Level Media