World number 163 player Elias Ymer beat Stefano Tavaglia 6-4 7-6 (7-4) to reach the semifinal at the Tata Open Maharastra in Pune.
Travaglia went up a 3-1 with a break in the fourth game of the first set, but Ymer won five of the next six games with two breaks in the fifth and ninth games to close out the first set 6-4.
The second set went on serve with no break points. Ymer earned two mini-breaks to win the tie-break 7-4. Travaglia was playing in his fifth quarter final in tour-level tournament.
Ymer had had upset last year’s Australian Open semifinalist Aslan Karatsev 6-2 7-6 (7-3) in the previous round.
The Swedish qualifier has advanced to the quarter final at a ATP-Tour level for the first time since 2016, when he reached the last eight in Gstaad.
Ymer has beaten a top 50 rival for the second time following his win over then-world number 41 Nick Kyrgios in Barcelona in 2015.
“I achieved my highest win ever against Karatsev. I am really happy. It is big for me. I have been fighting a lot and I was serving amazing today. I hope to keep it going. I am so happy to finally get this win. I have qualified for all of the Grand Slams, but now I have a tremendous opportunity because I truly believe in my game. I have the game, but it’s all about get the opportunities. I remember having a great year in 2018, but I suffered an elbow injury.”, said Ymer.
Elias Ymer’s father Wondwosen managed to evade the civil war in his homeland Ethiopia and moved to Sweden at the age of 18. Wondwosen was a professional runner, but he encouraged his three sons to try tennis.
Ymer set up Joao Sousa,who cruised past Daniel Altmeier 6-2 6-3 in 1 hour and 12 minutes. The Portuguese player hs reached his first tour-level semifinal since 2019. Sousa backed up his hard-fought three-set win over Gianluca Mager with a straight-set win over Altmeier.
“Today was a great match. I think I played a great match. I was very solid. I played a great match. I was very solid. I knew it was going to be a tough match, so I was prepared to run a lot. I am really happy with the way I played today and I am happy to be in the semifinals”, said Sousa.
Sousa has advanced to the semifinals at a tour-level tournament for the 20th time, but the first since St. Petersburg in 2019.
Polish player Kamil Majchrzak edged past Italian Next Gen star Lorenzo Musetti 6-2 6-7 (5-7) 6-4 after 2 hours and 15 minutes.
The first set went on serve in the first five games. Majchrzak rallied from 0-40 down to break serve in the sixth game. The Pole won sealed the opening set 6-2 with his second break on his first set point.
Musetti held his serve in the second game of the second set with four aces. Majchrzak saved the first break point he faced in the seventh game to hold serve at deuce, when Musetti hit his forehand into the net.
Musetti went up a mini-break twice in the tie-break, but Majchrzak pulled back on serve both times. Musetti earned three set points at 6-3, but he wasted two set points in the tie-break. The Italian player converted his third chance to seal the second set 7-5, when Majchrzak made a double fault.
The third set went on serve with no break points in the first eight games. Musetti saved the first break point in the ninth game, but Majchrzak earned the break on his second chance from 30-15 down in the ninth game. Majchrzak served out the third set after three deuces after saving two break-back points in the 10th game to reach his first ATP semifinal.
Musetti played in his fifth quarter final of the year.
“I feel very good. I was waiting and working for this chance to make a mark on the ATP Tour. I am very happy with it, especially with today’s win against Lorenzo, who is a talented player. I am pleased I managed my emotions at the end”, said Majchrzak.
Majchrzak set up a semifinal clash against Emil Ruusuvuori, who beat Jiri Vesely 6-3 6-4 after 1 hour and 18 minutes. Ruusuvuori has reached his second semifinal of the year after advancing to the last four at the Melbourne Summer Set last January. The Finnish player won 84% of his first serve points.
