World number three Daniil Medvedev booked his place in the China Open men’s semifinals with a 6-4, 3-6, 6-1 victory over France’s Ugo Humbert in Beijing on Monday.
An error-strewn first set saw a combined five breaks of serve but Medvedev edged ahead in the ninth game and finished it off with an ace.
Both men were more consistent in set two until the Russian, at deuce, hit two consecutive double faults to hand the crucial break to Humbert.
But Medvedev finally tightened up in the decider, notching two quickfire breaks before seeing out the match on his serve.
The 27-year-old will battle it out with either World No. 10 Alexander Zverev or Chilean Nicolas Jarry for a place in the final.
World No. 2 and top seed Carlos Alcaraz is due to play his quarterfinal against Casper Ruud on Monday evening.
The top-ranked men’s player Novak Djokovic is not playing the China tournaments this season.
In the first round of the women’s draw, world number two Iga Swiatek defeated Spain’s Sara Sorribes Tormo in straight sets.
The Pole, who recently relinquished her hold on the number one spot to Aryna Sabalenka, enjoyed significant success at the net on her way to a 6-4, 6-3 victory. Swiatek will play France’s Varvara Gracheva in the second round.
The China Open is taking place for the first time since 2019 after Beijing abandoned its long-standing zero-Covid policy.
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