MANACOR, August 30, 2019

The semi-finals line-up at the Rafa Nadal Open by Sotheby’s International Realty is set led by No. 5 seed Alejandro Davidovich Fokina. The 20-year-old Spaniard battled past Jurij Rodionov of Austria, winning 6-4, 1-6, 7-6(3) on a sunny Friday afternoon in Mallorca.

Davidovich Fokina withstood 12 aces, breaking his opponent’s serve three times to prevail after two hours and eight minutes.

“Playing on home soil is special. Without the support from the spectators I wouldn’t have made it today,” Davidovich Fokina said during his post-match on-court interview. “It was really tough, but I played well”.

The #NextGenATP contender will next take on young gun Emil Ruusuvuori. The No. 15 seed from Finland defeated Spaniard Pedro Martinez 6-3, 6-1 in one hour and 17 minutes.

Later in the day, Matteo Viola, who knocked out former World No. 1 Andy Murray on Friday, continued his good run of form with a 6-2, 6-1 victory over Blaz Kavcic from Slovenia. The 32-year-old Italian won 61 per cent of the total points played to advance after 63 minutes.

¡Con autoridad! Tras superar a Andy Murray, @MatteoViola_ATP ha derrotado a Blas Kavcic para meterse en las semis del #RafaNadalOpen by @sothebysrealty. Mañana le espera Daniel Masur. pic.twitter.com/TjoFTItSEp

— Rafa Nadal Academy by Movistar (@rnadalacademy) August 30, 2019

Viola will next take on Daniel Masur of Germany, who beat Illya Marchenko from the Ukraine 7-6(2), 6-2. The encounter lasted one hour and 29 minutes.

“This was one of my best matches of this season,” Masur said. “I feel really comfortable here. A lot of people come to watch the matches. The facilities are amazing. I use the ice batch every day. The hotel is in walking distance. It is really great. This has been one of the best Challengers I have ever played.”