A pair of players who had never previously reached a tour-level semifinal — Tim Smyczek and Ramkumar Ramanathan — will make their debuts at that level in Newport after both secured quarterfinal wins on Thursday.
Smyczek, No. 123 in the world, topped wild card Jason Jung in three sets, while Ramanathan ousted Vasek Pospisil, the only top 100 quarterfinalist in the bottom half of the draw.
Smyczek advanced 6-1, 5-7, 6-4 in a near two-hour contest on the scraggly American grass. He did so in part due to effective serving; he won 70 percent of points on his racket. That was especially evident in the first and third sets, in which the American was not broken and faced just one break point.
His return game looked similarly impenetrable in the first set, aided by four Jung double faults in his opening service game. Smyczek hit a precise backhand stab two games later to go up 4-0, then dug out of a 0-30 hole at 5-1 to serve out the opening set in just 26 minutes.
Jung found his service stroke in the second set, staving off several of five break points at 2-2 with aces. The world No. 131 broke Smyczek in the next game to go in front; though he failed to serve out the set, he won it with a crisp return winner up the line on Smyczek’s serve.
Smyczek rebounded to break at love early in the third set, then served out the match easily after failing to convert three match points on Jung’s serve.
Ramanathan had an easier time against the more heralded Pospisil, winning 7-5, 6-2. The 23-year-old Indian faced just one break point in an even first set, then displayed excellent net play and deft touch to reach 0-40 on Pospisil’s serve at 5-6. An ensuing double fault from the Canadian handed Ramanathan the set.
The world No. 161 stayed on the front foot, staving off two break points in his opening service game before breaking Pospisil for a second consecutive time. Ramanathan served effectively throughout the match, hitting five aces and winning 78 percent of first serve points, and used that weapon to hold off a struggling Pospisil.
Smyczek and Ramanathan will meet each other in Saturday’s semifinals, guaranteeing an even greater high water mark for one of them. More established names, like Adrian Mannarino and Steve Johnson, play their quarterfinals Friday.
