Cincinnati [US], August 15 (ANI): The world number 136 Terence Atmane continued his brilliant giant-killing run, while world number one Jannik Sinner also delivered a dominant performance to reach the semifinals of the ongoing Cincinnati Open on Friday.
Just a day after toppling American star Taylor Fritz, the French qualifier produced another stunning win over a top-10-ranked talent, Holger Rune by 6-2, 6-3 to reach his first-ever ATP Masters 1000 semifinal and set up an exciting clash with top-ranked Sinner.
On the other hand, Sinner continued his grass court win streak with a brilliant victory over Felix Auger-Aliassime to reach the semifinals.
The defending champion had lost both of his previous matches to Felix, winning just one set, but both of these defeats had come three years back, way before Sinner had reached the top 10 in the ATP Rankings. Now, Sinner produced a clutch performance, reminding fans of his evolution and maturity, beating Felix by 6-0, 6-2.
Speaking after his win, Atmane said, as quoted by the ATP official website, “I do not think any words can describe how I feel right now. It is pretty insane to be honest. I cannot believe it. Being here in the semi-finals of a Masters 1000, breaking into the Top 100 and even more with the win tonight — it is also a lot of money for me, so it is going to be very helpful for my career. It means a lot to me. I am very emotional about it.”
Atmane fired 14 winners with his forehand and displayed his all-court athleticism in a one-hour, 13-minute win. He entered the tournament with a poor record of one win and four losses this season and is now up 67 places to world number 69 in the ATP Rankings.
Speaking on his emotions after the win over Fritz, the French player said that he could not sleep after that.
“I was just trying to be myself on court, trying to enjoy it as much as I can because I have nothing to lose, that is the advantage I have of being the underdog here, coming from the qualies. I think this is going to give me a lot of confidence for the rest of the year and in my career in general,” he added.
Speaking after his match, Sinner said, “I felt that I was returning very well today. I had a small drop in the second set when he broke me. It could have been a small change, but I am happy I broke him back quite early.”
“He (Felix) is a very difficult opponent because he serves well, and he moves well. Physically in incredible shape and hits the forehand very well. But we prepared in the best way, also tactically, and I felt like today I was playing some great tennis,” he added. (ANI)
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