Top seed Juan Martin del Potro required less than an hour to secure his place in the last four of the Los Cabos Open as he thrashed Bulgaria’s Egor Gerasimov 6-1, 6-1.
Targeting his second title in Mexico this year, the world No.4 was relentless in his quarter-final match. Hitting eight aces and winning 100% (19/19) of his first service points. Los Cabos is the sixth tournament that Del Potro has reached the semi-finals at on the ATP World Tour this season.
“I felt better and the result shows it- so that is good for my confidence and for my game. I hope to do a little better tomorrow.” Del Potro said following the match.
“I was pretty solid from the back of the court and converted every break point I could convert. That is the key to this game, take all the opportunities because there are many possibilities to make a difference.”
Del Potro has positioned himself in line for a potential rise to No.3 in the world. He can rise to a new ranking high this week if Alexander Zverev doesn’t reach the final of the Citi Open in Washington. The German is the defending champion.
Regardless of how Zverev fairs, the Argentine’s focus remains on Los Cabos. Awaiting him in the last four will be Bosnia’s Damir Dzumhur. Dzumhur also experienced little difficulty in his quarter-final match with a 6-2, 6-3, win over Michael Mmoh.
“For the match against Damir, on my end I will be looking for winners- he runs a lot and defends very well. Maybe his best qualities are his defense and ability to counterattack. The match will be very difficult.” Del Potro said about the upcoming clash.
Del Potro has a 2-0 head-to-head record against Dzumhur going into their upcoming match.
Second seed Fabio Fognini eased past Japan’s Yoshihito Nishioka 6-2, 6-2. Despite his experience, the 31-year-old is seeking his first ever title on a hard court this week on the ATP Tour. Fognini’s next test will be British rising star Cameron Norrie. Norrie, who also reached the semi-finals of the Atlanta Open last week, knocked out fourth seed Adrian Mannarino 6-4, 6-4. A win that is set to elevated him into the world’s top 70 for the first time in his career.
“It will be a very tough match, last year Cameron improved a lot. He’s young, but it’s fine because he’s left handed; my two previous matches were with lefties so I have adapted to the change of profile.” Said Fognini.
“I can not say yet if I will have the chance to win my first hard court title. I still have the semifinal and there are other players who want the same as me. I have another match to try to improve because here the conditions are very difficult.
“I am happy to be here in order to prepare for the American tour- tomorrow, I will go with everything I have to achieve another final.”
Fognini is seeking to reach his first ATP hard court final of the season. Meanwhile, 22-year-old Norrie is seeking the first in his career.
Note: quotes obtained via the official tournament website – http://abiertoloscabos.com
