The unseeded Canadian, Gabriel Diallo overwhelmed Francisco Cerundolo to reach his first final on the ATP Tour with a 6-4 6-2 win over the fourth seeded Argentine.
The 68-minute semi-final triumph at the Almaty Open also guarantees he will lift his ranking into the top 100 on Monday.
“A lot of joy, a lot of excitement. A lot of relief as well,” Diallo replied on being asked how he felt on achieving these two milestones on the same day. “I’ve been playing some good tennis and I’m very happy to see that the results are going my way. It means the world to me, especially here. I’ve got family members here that I’ve never met before, so obviously it’s pretty cool that they came and I’m having a great week here. I’m extremely happy.
“It’s super special. Obviously the Top 100 is something that you try to break. It’s a pretty big milestone. It gets you into the bigger events and the Slams, which is always more fun, more stimulating. I’m super happy for myself and for my team. We’ve been working really hard to get where we are right now, and hopefully it can be the beginning of something special.”
After becoming the seventh Canadian to reach an ATP Tour final this century, Diallo will take on the third seeded Karen Khacanov in the title match who beat Aleksander Vukic 6-7(3) 6- 6-4 in the second semi-final of the day in Kazakhstan.
The six-time title holder from Russia has won their only previous meeting.
Tommy Paul going for his third title of the season
Photo by Zhe Ji/Getty Images)
In Stockholm, Tommy Paul, the fourth seed at the Nordic Open, put an end to Stan Wawrinka’s excellent run, defeating the 39-year-old Swiss 6-3 6-2 to reach the title round and hopefully regain the title he won 2021.
“Stan is an amazing player. He’s had an amazing week. It’s been really fun watching him and it was really fun playing against him today,” Paul said. “It took a serious level from me to get past him, so I’m really happy with the battle we had today.”
The 27-year-old American will play for his third tour-level trophy of the year on Sunday in Sweden, following his victories in Dallas and at the Queen’s Club.
He will be facing Grigor Dimitrov, the third seed, who continues his quest for a second Stockholm title, after defeating Tallon Griekspoor 2-6 7-5 6-4 to reach his 21st tour-level final.
Roberto Bautista-Agut reaches his 23rd tout-lrvrl final
(Photo by JASPER JACOBS/BELGA MAG/AFP via Getty Images)
Meanwhile in Belgium, Jiri Lehecka squeezed past Marcos Giron 6-3 4-6 6-3 to reach the final of the European Open in Antwerp.
“All the best to Marcos, he played incredible tennis, especially in the second set,” Lehecka said in his on-court interview after the one hour, 57-minute clash.
“A few times I was speechless with what he was able to produce, so I’m very happy with the win, so happy to be through and today it was a hard-fought battle.
“After the second set, when I thought I wasn’t playing bad but he was just playing incredible from the back of the baseline, I knew I had to use every chance I had to push forward and to be aggressive. His second serve was the only chance I had to do it, so I tried to use that, and it worked well.”
Awaiting the Czech in he final is the Spaniard Roberto Bautista Agut who eased past Hugo Gaston 6-3 6-4 to reach his 23rd tour-level final.
“My last final was in Adelaide last year and it means a lot to me to be in [another] final,” the Spanish veteran said. “I’ve been working very hard after the injury and to enjoy on the court, like I have this week. It’s why I love tennis and why I keep practising very hard. I’m very happy.”
