By Chris Oddo | @TheFanChild | Friday July 19, 2024
Frenchman Arthur Fils is into the semis at Hamburg for the second consecutive year.
Photo Source: TTV
Arthur Fils – the youngest player in the ATP rankings – is making a push in Hamburg.
The Frenchman advanced on Friday when Holger Rune pulled out with a knee issue, 6-4, 4-1, RET. to set a semifinal with Argentina’s Sebastian Baez on Saturday at the 2024 Hamburg Open.
No.3-seeded Baez defeated seventh-seeded Luciano Darderi on Friday, 2-6, 6-4, 6-4.
Fils, who eliminated Casper Ruud last year in Hamburg to reach the semis, needed 67 minutes to acquire the victory on a rough day for the second-seeded Dane.
Rune injured his knee in his first-round win over Fabian Marozsan.
He said he struggled in his second-round win over Marco Trungelliti, and again today against the 28th-ranked Frenchman.
“So sorry guys. My knee had caused problems since the incident in the first match. Yesterday was bad. Today I tried but it wasn’t good,” he wrote on Instagram after his retirement.
It isn’t clear if Rune will recover in time to take his place in the Olympic Games in Paris next week, where he is set to make his debut.
Fils will also be in Paris, but not before he takes a run at reaching the Hamburg final on Saturday. He is into his seventh ATP semifinal and will bid to reach his biggest final in Hamburg.
Elsewhere on Friday, Spain’s Pedro Martinez defeated fourth-seeded Francisco Cerundolo 1-6, 6-1, 6-4 to reach the semifinals. He is to face either Alexander Zverev, the top seed, or China’s Zhang Zhizhen.