By Richard Pagliaro | @Tennis_Now | Saturday, October 19, 2024
Gabriel Diallo drilled Francisco Cerundolo 6-4, 6-2 advancing to his maiden ATP final and continuing a run in which he's cracked the Top 100 for the first time.
Photo credit: Zhe Ji/Getty
Gabriel Diallo continues playing transformative tennis in Almaty.
World No. 118 Diallo turned semifinal Saturday into twin triumph.
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Diallo drilled Francisco Cerundolo 6-4, 6-2 charging into his maiden ATP final and continuing a career week that's seen him crack the Top 100 for the first time.
The 23-year-old Canadian makes his mark as the lowest-ranked finalist in tournament history.
"A lot of joy, a lot of excitement, a lot of relief as well," Diallo said afterward. "I've been playing some good tennis and very happy to see the results are going my way.
"It means the world to me, especially to do it here. I've got family members that I never met before [here], so obviously it's pretty cool that they came and I managed to have a great week here.
"Overall, I'm extremely happy."
The 6'8" Diallo's jolting serve delivered joy today. Diallo served 73 percent, pumped five aces against no double faults and saved the only break point he faced serving out the match.
The victory vaults Diallo to a new career-high ranking of No. 87 in the ATP live rankings. He is the seventh Canadian man to advance to an ATP final this century.
"Super special, obviously top 100 is something you try to break," Diallo said. "It's a big milestone and can get you to play the bigger events, the Slams, which is always more fun.
"I'm super happy for myself and my team. Because we've been working really hard to get to where I am now. Hopefully, this can be the start of something special."
Two years and two months ago, Diallo cracked the Top 500 for the first time.
Tomorrow, he will play either Karen Khachanov or Aleksandar Vukic for his first ATP title in the Almaty final.
Diallo broke for a 4-3 lead then stamped successive solid holds for a one-set lead.
The fourth-seeded Cerundolo was playing for his sixth career ATP final, but looked flat and struggled on serve at times spitting up five double faults.
Diallo denied Cerundolo's bid to join Guillermo Vilas, Guillermo Coria, David Nalbandian, Guillermo Canas and Javier Frana as the sixth Argentinean man to reach ATP finals on grass, clay and hard courts in the Open Era.