PORTO, August 4, 2023
In the thrilling quarterfinals of the Porto Open, the stakes were high as the remaining players battled it out for a place in the stage of the last four. World No. 153 Luca Nardi is the highest-ranked player left in the singles draw of the ATP Challenger Tour 125 hard-court event. The 19-year-old Italian defeated Adrian Andreev of Bulgaria 6-4, 6-3 on Friday afternoon.
On a sunny day in Porto with temperatures up to 25 degrees Celsius, Nardi sent down four aces and won 71 per cent of his first-service points to advance in one hour and 28 minutes.
Luca Nardi defeats Adrian Andreev 6-4, 6-3 to reach the #PortoOpen @ATPChallenger 125 semi-finals. pic.twitter.com/v6chHd2mxa
— Gaspar Ribeiro Lança (@gasparlanca) August 4, 2023
“It was tough match. I am very happy because he played very well”, said Nardi after reaching his second semi-final of the season.
“Conditions were easier than the days before because we had less wind today. I served well, as I knew that he has a good return. I was very focused and aggressive during the rallies.
“I like to play on hard courts. I won three Challengers on this surface,” said the teenager, who practices close to Bologna and is enjoying his time in Northern Portugal. “We travel a lot, seeing a lot of different places. I love to travel and spending time out. It’s my first time in Porto. Every night we go out and eat in a different restaurant and the food is great. That’s important for me.”
Nardi will next take on No. 7 seed Antoine Escoffier of France, who beat Canada’s Steve Diez 6-3, 6-4 in one hour and 31 minutes.
Sousa soars into the semis
Later in the day, Joao Sousa delighted his home crowd in an enthusiastic atmosphere on Center Court with 7-6(4), 6-2 win over Frenchman Pierre-Hugues Herbert. The 34-year-old Portuguese wild card entry, a winner of four titles on the ATP Tour, saved both break points he faced and capitalized on two of his own 11 break-point chances to prevail after one hour and 41 minutes.
Joao Sousa 🇵🇹 has reached the the semi-finals of the Porto Open, seeking his first ATP Challenger title since his triumph on home soil in Guimarães 2013.
“It’s a good sign, but I’m not thinking about it. I just want to enjoy it here!” #ATPChallenger #ATPorto pic.twitter.com/j8bZAOwEIB
— Florian Heer (@Florian_Heer) August 4, 2023
“It was a tough match, against a dangerous player, with a lot of experience, and very different from those I had faced before, as he varies his serve a lot with a highly effective net game, making it difficult to establish a rhythm from the baseline,” Sousa told Tennis TourTalk afterwards.
“I was able to play good tennis. I increased my level in the second. The crowd was important in the decisive moments and I am very happy to reach the semis here.”
Up next for the World No. 352, who cracked the Top 30 of the ATP Rankings in 2016, will be Jules Marie of France, a 3-6, 7-6(7), 6-4 winner over Denis Yevseyev from Kazakhstan. The encounter lasted two hours and 23 minutes.
