GENEVA: No. 1 seed Novak Djokovic of Serbia and No. 2 seed Casper Ruud of Norway both reached the semifinals of the Gonet Geneva Open with victories on Thursday in Switzerland.
At the tune-up for Roland-Garros, Djokovic remained on a roll by saving all seven break points he faced during a 7-5, 6-1 win over No. 6 seed Tallon Griekspoor of the Netherlands. Earlier in the day, Griekspoor completed a 6-7 (7-9), 7-6 (7-4), 6-3 comeback win in the Round of 16 over Canada's Denis Shapovalov that was interrupted on Wednesday by rain.
Ruud, a clay-court specialist, needed three sets before beating Argentina's Sebastian Baez 6-3, 3-6, 6-4. Ruud converted 4 of 5 break-point opportunities and benefitted from No. 5 Baez's 21 unforced errors.
In the semifinals, Djokovic will face the Czech Republic's Tomas Machac, who beat Alex Michelsen 6-3, 7-6 (7-2). Ruud will meet Italian Flavio Cobolli, who was a 6-4, 6-4 winner over Alexander Shevchenko of Kazakhstan.
No. 2 seed Alexander Bublik of Kazakhstan rallied to defeat Russia's Pavel Kotov 6-7 (4-7), 7-6 (7-4), 6-3 in three hours and 11 minutes in the quarterfinals in Lyon, France.
Bublik smashed 11 aces, saved 13 of 17 break points and converted 5 of 8 opportunities to break Kotov. He trailed 3-1 in the second-set tiebreaker before charging in front, and he overcame losing his serve in the first game of the third set.
In the semis, Bublik will face Giovanni Mpetshi Perricard, ranked No. 117 in the world, after the French wild card beat countryman Hugo Gaston 6-4, 4-6, 6-3. No. 6 seed Tomas Martin Etcheverry of Argentina was a 6-4, 6-1 winner over Dominik Koepfer of Germany and next will face Italy's Luciano Darderi, who advanced via walkover against France's Arthur Rinderknech. - REUTERS