Berrettini takes Swiss Open quarterfinal, improves to 5-2 against Auger-Aliassime
;Resize=(620))
Montreal’s Felix Auger-Aliassime was eliminated from the Swiss Open clay-court tennis tournament with a 7-6 (9), 7-6 (2) quarterfinal loss to Italy’s Matteo Berrettini on Friday in Gstaad.
Berrettini went up 5-0 in the second tiebreaker before converting his first match point on serve.
Auger-Aliassime missed a chance to take control of the first set when Berrettini came back from triple break point in the sixth game to hold for a 3-3 tie.
The Italian then converted set point on return in the ensuing tiebreaker when Auger-Aliassime ended a six-shot rally with an unforced error.
Auger-Aliassime’s career record against Berrettini fell to 2-5.
The Canadian, who turns 24 next month, is scheduled to play in men’s singles and doubles at the Paris Games starting next week and used this tournament as a tune-up. Tennis at the Olympics will be held on the clay courts at Roland Garros, the site of the French Open.
On Monday, Auger-Aliassime and Swiss partner Dominic Stricker lost 6-4, 7-6 (4) to top seeds Jamie Murray of Britain and Czechia’s Adam Pavlasek in the first round of doubles competition.
WATCH | Auger-Aliassime quarterfinal bound after downing German opponent:
Montreal’s Felix Auger-Aliassime lost to Italian Matteo Berrettini 7-6(7), 7-6(2) in the quarterfinals of the Swiss Open in Gstaad, Switzerland.
Nadal defeats Argentina’s Navone
Rafael Nadal advanced to his first semifinal in two years after a four-hour quarterfinal at the Nordea Open on Friday in Bastad, Sweden.
Nadal fought past 36th-ranked Mariano Navone of Argentina 6-7 (2), 7-5, 7-5. Nadal led 5-2 in the deciding set.
“I lost for some moments my concentration, but I was able to hold physically until the end,” Nadal said in an on-court interview. “That is so important for me. Let’s see how I am tomorrow, but today I am alive and in the semifinals.”
The 38-year-old Nadal is playing his first tournament since losing in the French Open first round, to prepare for the Paris Olympics on clay at Roland Garros.
In his first semifinal since 2022 Wimbledon, Nadal will face Croatian qualifier Duje Ajdukovic on Saturday.
;Resize=(620))
