GLASGOW, September 20, 2019
Emil Ruusuvuori leads the semi-finals line-up at the Murray Trophy. The No. 4 seed of the €46,600 ATP Challenger event in Glasgow cruised past ninth seed Tobias Kamke from Germany, winning 6-2, 6-1.
Ruusuvuori was in total control of the encounter, as he didn’t face a break point and capitalized on four of his own four chances to advance in only 62 minutes.
Who is the breakout player of the summer?
Answer: @EmilRuusuvuori
Fresh off an upset of World No. 5 Dominic Thiem in Davis Cup, the 🇫🇮 improves to 17-3 since early August. pic.twitter.com/IwdAGViBPD
— ATP Challenger Tour (@ATPChallenger) September 20, 2019
The 20-year-old Helsinki native will appear in the stage of the final four for the fourth time this season and will take on #NextGen Austrian Jurij Rodionov.
The 20-year-old Matzen resident was even 12 minutes quicker than Ruusuvuori to beat Italian veteran Roberto Marcora by the score of 6-2, 6-2. “It was a very good match. My best of the week so far. I am thrilled to reach my first Challenger semi-final of the season,” Rodionov said.
Your second semi-finalist in Glasgow… 🇦🇹 Jurij Rodionov!
The 20-year-old is into his first SF of the year at the #MurrayTrophy pic.twitter.com/FxW6jOz27q
— ATP Challenger Tour (@ATPChallenger) September 20, 2019
Earlier on Friday, Alexandre Muller rallied from a set down to overcome Spanish teenager Nicola Kuhn 3-6, 7-5, 6-4. The World No. 278 from France won 52 per cent of the total points played to reach his first semi-final on the ATP Challenger Tour.
“I am very happy today. It was a tough match. I was trying to be calm on the court, as I felt a lot of pressure on the court today,” said Muller, who experienced a tough summer when he struggled with injuries and his form. “I just tried to be positive and practiced with my coach. I had to wait to win some good matches.”
Up next for the 22-year-old Poissy native will be Ramkumar Ramanathan of India. The No. 5 seed defeated Daniel Masur from Germany 7-5, 7-6(4). Ramanathan fired 19 aces and won 81 per cent of his first-service points to secure victory in one hour and 31 minutes.
Your third Glasgow semi-finalist is 🇮🇳 @ramkumar1994!
0️⃣ sets dropped this week
0️⃣ times broken this week pic.twitter.com/vrlJNoIGYA— ATP Challenger Tour (@ATPChallenger) September 20, 2019
