De Minaur Beats The Heat In 'Hotlanta'
After beginning his Atlanta Open campaign with an evening win against countryman James Duckworth, Aussie Alex de Minaur played his first match under the hot Georgia sun in Friday's quarter-finals.
The second seed outlasted French qualifier Adrian Mannarino 4-6, 6-3, 6-0 to book his fourth semi-final showing of the 2022 season.
"It's not called Hotlanta for nothing, that's for sure," De Minaur said post-match. "It's definitely a hot one today. I had to absolutely battle, but jeez it feels good to get on top in these types of matches.
"Very proud of myself, very proud of my attitude. I didn't give in and managed to fight until the end. I'm happy to live another day."
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The 23-year-old survived two tough service games to open the second set, battling through four deuces in the opening game and erasing two break points to lead 2-1. From 3-3, he raced through the finish line by taking the match's final nine games against a tiring opponent who was playing his fifth match of the week.
De Minaur won the 2019 Atlanta title and will seek his first final of 2022 against Ilya Ivashka on Saturday. Ivaskha also went the distance on Saturday to defeat fifth seed Tommy Paul 6-2, 3-6, 6-1. The 28-year-old is through to his first semi-final of the season and the fifth of his tour-level career.
A pair of all-American quarter-finals in the Atlanta draw's bottom half were won by Frances Tiafoe and Jenson Brooksby, who will meet Saturday evening for a place in the final.
The fourth-seeded Tiafoe continued his strong week with a 6-4, 6-2 win against #NextGenATP star Brandon Nakashima. Tiafoe wrapped up the victory in just over an hour for his second straight-sets win in a row. The 24-year-old saved the only break point he faced in the contest while converting on all three of his return chances to advance to his second final of the year (Estoril).
Brooksby ended the title defence of six-time Atlanta champion John Isner with a 3-6, 6-1, 6-4 decision in the evening session. The sixth seed was the steadier man throughout and did not face a break point after dropping serve early in the opening set. He improved to 5-0 in quarter-finals as he seeks his first ATP Tour title.
"I've had a few focussed matches now," Brooksby said, repeating a theme he's keyed on all week. "He came out really strong and he's a good competitor. I knew it would be a battle and I'm quite pleased with how I was able to turn it around."
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After dropping the opener, Brooksby lost just three points in racing to a 5-0 lead in set two. He made the decisive breakthrough in the seventh game of the final set, then saw four match points go begging on return before overcoming a last-gasp charge from his countryman.
Brooksby won his only previous ATP Head2Head meeting against Tiafoe, taking a 7-6(4), 7-5 decision last year in Washington.