Alex de Minaur is a step nearer to reaching the Rotterdam Open remaining following a snug straight-sets win over Daniel Altmaier.
Third seed de Minaur defeated German “fortunate loser” Altmaier 6-1, 6-4 to advance to the semifinals the place he’ll face Italian qualifier Mattia Bellucci.
Bellucci received via after beating sixth seed Stefanos Tsitsipas 6-4, 6-2.
It was Bellucci’s second successive upset win after he ended Daniil Medvedev’s match within the spherical of 16.
“He is having his breakout match,” de Minaur mentioned of Bellucci.
“Beating Medvedev is a really, very powerful activity on any court docket and he is enjoying with plenty of confidence.”
De Minaur, ranked eighth on this planet, is but to drop a set in Rotterdam.
Though he misplaced a service recreation within the second set, he broke world quantity 93 Altmaier 4 occasions throughout the match.
“I am completely satisfied I managed to stand up for it and play some good tennis and dig very deep once I wanted to,” de Minaur mentioned.
Ought to de Minaur triumph in his semifinal, the Australian may face prime seed Carlos Alcaraz within the match decider.
Alcaraz, a four-time main winner, defeated fellow Spaniard Pedro Martinez 6-2, 6-1 within the quarterfinals.
The victor will meet both fourth seed Andrey Rublev or eighth-seeded Hubert Hurkacz within the final 4.
