After Matteo Berrettini and Dominic Thiem it was Diego Schwartzman’s turn to advance to the Erste Bank Open’s semifinals. The Argentinian, number 5 of the tournament, beat Russian Karen Khachanov (2) in straight sets.
But it didn’t look like that in the beginning, because Khachanov was already serving for the set when Schwartzman finally broke the Russian’s service to get to the tiebreak which he won. In the second set Khachanov was nowhere near the win and Schwartzman had no problems winning 7-6(6), 6-2.
Afterwards, the arena was singing “Diego, Diego” for the fan favorite who thanked the crowd: “I think I have stolen Dominic’s living room today. “ He then continued with a smirk: “I wonder if the crowd will back me like that if I play Dominic in the final.” But to get there, both players first have to win their semis on Saturday…
Monfils completes semifinals
There, Schwartzman will have to face Gael Monfils (FRA/4). The Frenchman defeated Slovenian qualifier Aljaz Bedene after some short struggles in the beginning in just 71 minutes 7-5, 6-1.