ORTISEI, November 15, 2019

Jannik Sinner advanced to the semi-finals of the Sparkasse Challenger Val Gardena Südtirol. The 18-year-old from South Tyrol beat fellow Italian Federico Gaio 6-4, 6-4 on Friday afternoon at the Tennis Club Ortisei.

Sinner withstood 14 aces, breaking his opponent’s serve three time to secure victory in one hour and 14 minutes. The teenager will meet Antoine Hoang in the stage of the final four. The No. 6 seed emerged victorious from the all-Italian encounter with No. 15 seed Elliot Benchetrit 6-2, 6-0. The 24-year-old from Aix-en-Provence, who lifted his maiden Challenger trophy in Eckental one year ago, only needed 41 minutes to finish the match.

Earlier in the day, Luca Vanni cruised past No. 5 seeded German Peter Gojowczyk 6-0, 6-3. The 34-year-old Italian hit 10 aces and won 90 per cent of his first-service points to advance in only 44 minutes. Five-time ATP Challenger champion Vanni will next take on Sebastian Ofner. The 10th seed from Austria held off the good run of 17-year-old Italian wild card entry Lorenzo Musetti, winning 7-6(5), 6-2 in one hour and 14 minutes.