SAN DIEGO: Top-seeded Andrey Rublev of Russia beat sixth-seeded Diego Schwartzman of Argentina for the second time in two weeks, prevailing 6-1, 7-5 on Friday in the quarterfinals of the San Diego Open.
Rublev edged Schwartzman last week in the Laver Cup at Boston, winning 11-9 in an extended tiebreaker that stood in for the third set after the players split the first two sets. Rublev helped Team Europe win the Laver Cup.
Up next for Rublev is a semifinal matchup against Great Britain’s Cameron Norrie, who cruised past fourth-seeded Denis Shapovalov of Canada 6-3, 6-1.
The final two semifinalists were due to be determined Friday night. Second-seeded Casper Ruud of Norway was set to oppose Lorenzo Songeo of Italy, and Grigor Dimitrov of Bulgaria was ready to face Aslan Karatsev of Russia.
Sofia Open:
Italy’s Jannik Sinner, the tournament’s top seed, overcame a slow start in both sets to emerge with a 7-6 (4), 6-4 win over Australia’s James Duckworth in the quarterfinals at Sofia, Bulgaria.
Duckworth won the first three games of the match and had a chance to seal the opening set while serving at 5-4, but Sinner rallied to pull level. Sinner took the opening four points in the tiebreaker, which he closed out on his third set point.
Duckworth broke serve again to open the second set, but he dropped his final two service games to end the match. Sinner moves on to a semifinal match against fifth-seeded Serbian Filip Krajinovic, who topped Poland’s Kamil Majchrzak 6-3, 4-6, 6-3.
The other semifinal will feature second-seeded Gael Monfils of France, a 6-2, 6-2 winner over Italy’s Gianluca Mager, and the United States’ Marcos Giron, who upset eighth-seeded John Millman of Australia 6-4, 6-2.
