BASTAD/STARNBERG, July 15, 2022

Pablo Carreno Busta cruised past No. 3 seed Diego Schwartzman of Argentina 6-1, 6-0 on Friday afternoon to reach the semi-finals of the Nordea Open in Bastad.

The third favourite from Spain, who is making his fourth appearance at the ATP Tour 250 clay-court event in Sweden, saved the only two break points he faced and converted five of his own 14 break-point opportunities to advance in 66 minutes.

Powering Through! 💥@pablocarreno91 secures his semi-final spot with a flawless 6-1 6-0 win over Schwartzman#NordeaOpen @NordeaOpen pic.twitter.com/NX7BZds0an

— Tennis TV (@TennisTV) July 15, 2022

“I played my match of the season,” Carreno Busta said in his on-court interview. “I was very focused all the time, every point. I tried to be aggressive and controlled the points. I didn’t make many mistakes and it was perfect. It is really good to play like this on court with the full crowd. I just need to continue like this.”

The World No. 18 will next take on Argentine Francisco Cerundolo, who defeated Aslan Karatsev of Russia 7-5, 6-1 in one hour and 32 minutes.

Rublev advances, Thiem falls

Andrey Rublev leads the bottom half of the draw, as the No. 2 seed edged past Laslo Djere from Serbia 7-5, 6-4. The 24-year-old Russian won 53 per cent of the total points played to prevail after one hour and 35 minutes. Rublev will next take on Sebastian Baez, who stopped the run of Dominic Thiem from Austria. The eighth seed from Argentina broke Thiem’s serve four times to secure a 6-2, 6-7(5), 6-4 victory in two hours and 49 minutes.

Semi-Final Bound! 🎉@sebaabaez7 upsets Thiem 6-2 6-7 6-4 and moves into the semi-finals in Bastad @NordeaOpen #NordeaOpen pic.twitter.com/Trx2rkoAng

— Tennis TV (@TennisTV) July 15, 2022

“It was such a tough match. So close,” Baez said in his on-court interview. “Dominic played well today and I hope to see more of him because he is a great player, so I hope he can return to the level we know. I am happy I won today and to stay in the tournament.

“I think we both played well today, I enjoyed the fight. The tournament and the grounds are good, so I am happy to stay here. The people are so nice, I feel comfortable. I now need to recover as best as I can.”