SASSUOLO, June 21, 2024
Federico Coria and Daniel Altmaier, the last two seeded players standing in the Emilia-Romagna Tennis Cup have both booked their spots in the semi-finals of the ATP Challenger Tour 125 clay-court event in Sassuolo, Italy.
Altmaier fought past home favourite Riccardo Bonadio, who battled through the qualifying, 6-7(4), 6-2, 7-5. The No. 4 seed from Germany hammered nine aces and won 79 per cent of his first-service points to secure victory in two hours and 35 minutes.
Coria defeated Italian qualifier Marco Cecchinato 6-2, 7-6(1). The top seed from Argentina capitalized on five of his 12 break-point chances to prevail after one hour and 52 minutes.
Altmaier and Coria will meet in the stage of the final four with the 25-year-old German, who practices in South America, leading 3-2 in their head-to-head records.
Surging into the Sassuolo semifinals ☝️#ATPChallenger | @fedeecoria pic.twitter.com/dmxEHizDlH
— ATP Challenger Tour (@ATPChallenger) June 20, 2024
Earlier in the day, Slovakian qualifier Martin Klizan booked his spot in the semi-finals. The experienced player from Bratislava, formerly ranked World No. 24, has returned to the circuit this year after a break and is steadily climbing back up the rankings. In Sassuolo, he aims to make a significant impact. Klizan, known for his powerful baseline shots, overcame US-American Tristan Boyer, one of the tournament’s surprises, 7-5, 7-5 in one hour and 49 minutes.
“I was a bit lucky in the qualifiers when I was on the brink of elimination,” Klizan explained after the match. “But that’s tennis, and day by day, I have improved my condition and level of play. Now I’m in the semifinals, and I’m happy and ready to go all the way.”
Klizan will next take on Jesper de Jong from the Netherlands, who rallied past Italian qualifier Alexander Weis 5-7, 6-3, 6-3 in two hours and 25 minutes.
