Robin Haase was the first to grab the spot in the semifinals of the Plava Laguna Croatia Open after defeating defending champion Andrey Rublev in just two sets, 6:3, 7:6 (6).
This is the Dutch player’s second semifinal of the season (Auckland) and his first ever in Umag after competing here three times already.
- I’ve been playing well this season but I somehow keep getting tough opponents, which means I’ve lost many a second-round match. But here things fortunately went my way. It was very humid, the conditions on the court were difficult and we spent a lot of energy while playing. But it was a good match. I may have not served as well as the day before, but the most important thing is that I won – said the 38th player in the world, who was forced to fight back after being one set down in both of his matches in the first two rounds.
- I had the cold when I arrived in Umag and I am still not 100-percent well. But I gave it my all and that’s, I guess, why I am in the semifinals now.
Rublev was exhausted after his grueling match the day before against Felix Auger-Aliassime and simply wasn’t up to playing another match less than 18 hours later. He, nonetheless, fought back and even recovered after being a break down in the second set, and saved three match points in the tiebreak. Unfortunately, that was not enough and his run to defend his title ended in the quarterfinals.
Marco Trungelliti’s wins should no longer be viewed as surprising, seeing as he had won for the fifth time in the last six days. He advanced from the qualifying stage all the way to the semifinals, which is now his new career-best result. The Argentinian beat Evgeny Donskoy 6:1, 6:4.
Guido Pella made sure we had two Argentinian players in the semifinals in Umag for the first time in the history of the tournament by eliminating Dušan Lajović in a very close two-set match, 7:6, 7:5.
The last player to roll into the semifinals was Marco Cecchinato. In the first set of his match against Laslo Đere, Cecchinato had to come back from being a break down, but once he got his rhythm back, he completely dismantled Đere, ultimately winning 6:4, 6:0.
Finally, Franko Škugor was the last Croatian in the tournament, thus keeping our hopes alive, but he and his doubles partner Dominic Inglot were stopped yesterday in the semifinals of the doubles competition.
