Miami (AFP) – Alejandro Davidovich Fokina ended Taylor Fritz’s bid for a third straight Delray Beach ATP title on Friday, beating the top-seed American 7-6 (7/4), 7-6 (7/5) in the quarter-finals.
Spain’s Davidovich, ranked 60th in the world, shook off a break of serve as he served for the match in the 12th game of the second set to seal it in the tiebreaker. The two had traded multiple breaks in the opening set, but after taking the first tiebreaker, Davidovich ratcheted up the pressure with a break in the second game of the second set.
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Fritz, ranked fourth in the world, finally clawed back the break to the delight of a partisan crowd, but couldn’t maintain it in the tiebreaker. Davidovich, who converted all three of his break points, next faces Italian fourth seed Matteo Arnaldi, a 7-6 (7/2), 6-4 winner over American Brandon Nakashima.
In the other semi-final, third-seeded American Alex Michelsen will take on Serbian seventh seed Miomir Kecmanovic. Kecmanovic toppled second-seeded American Marcos Giron 2-6, 6-4, 6-2, while Michelsen ousted former champion Cameron Norrie 7-6 (7/3), 7-5, avenging a loss to the Briton in Dallas last week.
Michelsen saved three set points at 4-5 in the second and broke Norrie for a 6-5 lead on the way to finishing it off in two. “It’s tough to play someone twice in two weeks,” Michelsen said. “I didn’t do that amazing last time I played him, but this time I made some adjustments and the game plan worked well.”
© 2024 AFP
