BASEL — Canadian Felix Auger-Aliassime, the No. 6 seed, earned a spot in the Swiss Indoors Basel final, upsetting No. 1 seed Holger Rune of Denmark 6-3, 6-2 in the semi-finals.
Auger-Aliassime, who broke Rune’s serve four times in the 83-minute match, advanced to his first final since winning the event last year, Reuters reported.
In the final, Auger-Aliassime will face No. 4 seed Hubert Hurkacz of Poland, who defeated unseeded Ugo Humbert of France 6-4, 3-6, 7-6 (5) in the other semi-final.
Hurkacz had a chance to serve out the match leading 5-3 in the third set, but Humbert rallied. Hurkacz then couldn’t convert two match points on Humbert’s serve and needed three more match points in the tiebreaker to clinch the win.
Erste Bank Open
The top two seeds, Daniil Medvedev of Russia and Jannik Sinner of Italy, will meet in the final after straight-set victories in the semi-finals.
Medvedev reached the final for the second straight year, defeating fourth-seeded Stefanos Tsitsipas of Greece 6-4, 7-6 (6). Medvedev, who had just 10 unforced errors, saved all three break points as he hopes to repeat as the tournament champion.
With a 7-5, 7-6 (5) win over No. 3 seed Andrey Rublev of Russia, Sinner became the first Italian man in the Open era (since 1968) with 55 wins in a season.
Sinner, who compiled 10 aces among his 26 winners, displayed his power in the tiebreaker after failing to serve out the match at 5-4.
Elsewhere, Jannik Sinner made history when he became the first Italian man in the Open Era (since 1968) to earn 55 wins in a season, reaching the Erste Bank Open final in the process.
The 22-year-old overcame Andrey Rublev 7-5, 7-6(5) in Vienna to notch his 55th victory of 2023, surpassing Corrado Barazzutti’s 54 mark in 1978.
Sinner played front-foot tennis throughout the one-hour, 52-minute clash against Rublev. He struck 26 winners, including 10 aces, and recovered from failing to serve out the match at 5-4 in the second set by raising his depth and power in the tie-break.
With his win, Sinner improved to 4-2 in the pair’s Lexus ATP series, while he ended Rublev’s 100 per cent record in tour-level semi-finals in 2023. The third seed was 6-0 before facing Sinner.
Sinner, who will compete at the Nitto ATP Finals in Turin in November after qualifying earlier this month, is into his sixth final of the season and 13th overall.
The second seed will meet Daniil Medvedev in the title match as he aims to win his fourth crown of the year. Earlier this year, Sinner triumphed in Montpellier and Beijing, while he clinched his first ATP Masters 1000 crown in Toronto.
Rublev had tasted success in Vienna before, winning the title at the hard-court event in 2020. The World No. 5, who will join Sinner in Turin at the prestigious year-end event, was chasing his sixth trophy at ATP 500 level.
Matteo Berrettini announced that he has ended his partnership with long-term coach Vincenzo Santopadre.
The 27-year-old Berrettini worked with Santopadre for 13 years. The Italian won seven tour-level titles under Santopadre’s guidance, while he rose to a career-high No. 6 in the ATP Rankings.
“I arrived in your “tennis arms” not yet knowing what I wanted to do of my life, you managed to make me dream far away while keeping my feet on the ground, day by day,” Berrettini wrote on Instagram.
“I don’t think I can put it down something that can really express what I feel for you. Gratitude, affection, respect, admiration, gratitude, joy and everything that is beautiful in our relationship.
“This is just a professional goodbye that probably increases our personal relationship. I’ve felt you on my side in every difficult moment faced in the last 13 years and, although there have been many hardships, I feel only joy thinking to me and you.
“I’m happy and grateful to the people who made us meet, and proud of us for how we have exploited this gift that has been granted to us. Without you there would have been Matteo Berrettini, but there wouldn’t have been The Hammer.”
