Top seed Taylor Fritz of the United States, the two-time defending champion at the Delray Beach (Fla.) Open, won’t have a chance at a three-peat after falling to Spanish eighth seed Alejandro Davidovich Fokina 7-6 (4), 7-6 (5) on Friday in the quarterfinals.
Fritz posted 13 aces to just two for Davidovich Fokina, but he couldn’t save any of his opponent’s three break points. Meanwhile, the Spaniard saved five of eight break points.
Fritz battled back from down 2-5 in the second set, but he lost service points three times in the tiebreaker — including while up 5-4 — before Davidovich Fokina put the match away.
Italian fourth seed Matteo Arnaldi got past sixth-seed U.S. player Brandon Nakashima 7-6 (2), 6-4 to earn a matchup with Davidovich Fokina in the semifinals.
In other quarterfinal action, No. 7 seed Miomir Kecmanovic of Serbia rallied to beat American fifth seed Marcos Giron 2-6, 6-4, 6-2.
Both players recorded 12 aces, but Kecmanovic won 36 of 44 first-service points (81.8 percent). His next opponent will be No. 3 seed Alex Michelsen, who fended off British foe Cameron Norrie 7-6 (3), 7-5.
IEB+ Argentina Open
Brazilian 18-year-old Joao Fonseca saved two match points and pushed past Argentina’s Mariano Navone 3-6, 6-4, 7-5 in the quarterfinals at Buenos Aires.
The match lasted two hours and 54 minutes and saw home favorite Navone serve for the match in the 10th game of the third set. Fonseca saved match point at 15-40 and 30-40 and won the game to extend the match. He finished with 10 aces and saved 9 of 14 break points.
It marks Fonseca’s first semifinal berth at the tour level. His next match will be against Serbian qualifier Laslo Djere, who beat Brazil’s Thiago Seyboth Wild 7-6 (3), 6-3.
The home fans got to savor an upset when No. 5 seed Francisco Cerundolo of Argentina rallied past No. 1 seed Alexander Zverev of Germany 3-6, 6-3, 6-2. After never producing a break point in the first set, Cerundolo took advantage of four of his five break opportunities in the last two sets.
Spaniard Pedro Martinez advanced when No. 3 seed Lorenzo Musetti of Italy withdrew due to a leg injury.
Open 13 Provence
Top two seeds Daniil Medvedev of Russia and Ugo Humbert of France advanced to the semifinals with straight-sets victories in Marseille, France.
Medvedev beat Germany’s Jan-Lennard Struff 6-3, 6-2, and Humbert took down No. 7 seed Lorenzo Sonego of Italy 6-4, 6-4.
Medvedev will face Serbian Hamad Medjedovic, who outlasted German Daniel Altmaier 7-5, 6-7 (7), 6-4 in the quarters. Humbert will battle Belgium’s Zizou Bergs, who won his first set 7-5 before Chinese opponent Zhizhen Zhang retired.
–Field Level Media
