Francisco Cerundolo defeats Alexander Shevchenko in Almaty | ATP Tour

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Cerundolo sinks home hope Shevchenko for Almaty SF spot

Argentina will face Diallo, who upset second seed Tabilo in the ATP 250

October 18, 2024

Francisco Cerundolo got quick revenge on Friday at the Almaty Open.

The fourth-seeded Argentine defeated home favorite Alexander Shevchenko 6-2, 6-3 to reach the semifinals of the Kazakhstan ATP 250. Cerundolo, who lost his opener to Shevchenko in Shanghai 13 days ago, converted three. six break points he got to set up a last four meeting with Gabriel Diallo.

“I am very happy. I knew it would be a very difficult game,” said Cerundolo in his interview on the court. “We played last week in Shanghai and he beat me in a very close game. I knew he was playing very well, I told him that in the net. I knew what I had to do and I think I did it very well. I worked well, and I’m very happy to reach another semi-final, and my first hard court this year.”

Cerundolo won 92 percent (24/26) of the points after his first serve, according to Infosys ATP Stats, en route to his 65-minute victory against Shevchenko. The 26-year-old, who won his third ATP Tour title in Umag in July, will now prepare for the semi-finals of his second major tour on hard courts following his breakthrough at the 2022 Miami Open presented by Itau.

Her next test in Kazakhstan is a maiden Lexus ATP Head2Head meeting with Diallo, who upset second seed Alejandro Tabilo 3-6, 6-3, 6-4. The 23-year-old Canadian Diallo, who rose 19 places to No. 99 in the PIF ATP Live Rankings thanks to his run in Almaty so far, will be competing in his first ATP Tour quarterfinal.

“I haven’t watched it [Diallo] a lot,” said Cerundolo. “We warmed up together today, but I don’t think I’ve seen many of his games. I will watch him for a while [on video] and learn how to play. I think it will be a tough game. He is big, he serves very well, he hits the ball very well. Here in these conditions, it will be very difficult.”