Almaty Open—Almaty, Kazakhstan
Diallo Reaches Maiden in Almaty; Kasatkina Advances to Ningbo Final
Canadian Gabriel Diallo reached the first Tour final of his young career on Saturday in Almaty, Kazakhstan, defeating No. 4 seed Francisco Cerundolo 6-4, 6-2.
Needing one hour and eight minutes to advance, Diallo struck five aces, won 79 percent of his first serve points and broke serve on three occasions.
Hitting 17 winners in total, Diallo will next face either No. 3 seed Karen Khachanov or Australian Aleksandar Vukic.
Diallo, who is 23-years-old, is up to No. 87 in the live rankings after reaching the finals. He had entered the event with a 4-6 record on the season.
Paul Aims for Stockholm Title
American Tommy Paul reached his second final in Stockholm, Sweden on Saturday when he defeated Swiss great Stan Wawrinka 6-3, 6-2.
Paul hit 28 winners and won 90 percent of his points at the net during the one hour and 20 minute contest. He has also racked up an impressive season to date. The 27-year-old has won two titles and currently stands at 44-17 in 2024.
Wawrinka, who was looking to win his first title since 2017, is currently ranked No. 167 in the world.
The day’s other semifinal will feature No. 3 seed Grigor Dimitrov facing No. 7 seed Tallan Griekspoor.
Semifinal Saturday in Antwerp
The semifinal matches have been set for the European Open in Antwerp, Belgium. With a great opportunity for all four players, the day’s encounters will feature No. 5 seed Jiri Lehecka taking on No. 8 seed Marcos Giron and Roberto Bautista Agut facing Hugo Gaston.
Gaston defeated top seed Alex de Minaur in impressive fashion on Friday, prevailing by a scoreline of 6-3, 3-6, 7-5.
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Ningbo Open—Ningbo, China
Saturday’s schedule in Ningbo, China saw world No. 11 Daria Kasatkina advance to the finals, defeating Spaniard Paula Badosa 6-4 retire.
The final is the sixth of the year that Kasatkina has reached. The 27-year-old won her lone title of the season in Eastbourne, Great Britain over Canadian Leylah Fernandez.
Kasatkina will next face either Mirra Andreeva or Karolina Muchova on Sunday.
Rain Delays in Osaka
Rain delays in Osaka, Japan have halted play for Saturday’s semifinals.
When the semifinals do get underway, No. 7 seed Diane Parry will face Suzan Lamens and Aoi Ito will take on Kimberly Birrell.
Check back for daily updates from TennisConnected.com throughout the fortnight for your up-to-date schedules, reviews, draws and results.
