Unheralded Huesler beats Lopez in straight sets for 1st semi
KITZBUEHEL, Austria (AP) - Unheralded Marc-Andrea Huesler continued his run into the Generali Open semifinals by beating Feliciano Lopez 6-4, 6-3 on Friday.
The first ATP semi for the 303rd-ranked Swiss qualifier will be against Miomir Kecmanovic. Laslo Djere and Yannick Hanfmann are set to contest the other semi.
Coming off his straight-sets win against the 12th-ranked top seed Fabio Fognini on Thursday, Huesler quickly set the tone against Lopez by winning nine of the first 11 points.
Huesler dropped his serve shortly afterward, but used another break to win the opening set. He added two more breaks in the second to close out the win, only his fourth in an ATP match.
'œI know now that I can beat everyone here,'ť Huesler told Austrian TV. 'œI was a bit more nervous this time. I didn't feel too well at the beginning, but I tried to stay calm and just do my thing.'ť
His next opponent, Kecmanovic, outlasted Federico Delbonis and hit 13 aces while holding serve throughout for a 6-4, 6-7 (5), 7-5 win.
In another Serbian-Argentine duel, Djere took a 7-6 (2), 6-3 win over No. 2 Diego Schwartzman, who was the last seeded player.
Djere is the only player left in the tournament with a tour title, after winning the Rio Open in 2019.
Earlier, Hanfmann defeated Maximilian Marterer 6-2, 7-5 in an all-German quarterfinal.
The clay-court tournament is the first ATP event in Europe since February.
___
More AP tennis: https://apnews.com/apf-Tennis and https://twitter.com/AP_Sports