BASTAD, July 17, 2021

The semi-finals at the Nordea Open in Bastad are set. Top seed Casper Ruud leads Saturday’s line-up and will face Roberto Carballes Baena of Spain. The World No. 16 from Norway received a walkover from Swiss qualifier Henri Laaksonen on Friday. Laaksonen was forced to withdraw from the match with a groin injury.

Carballes Baena defeated Norbert Gombos from Slovakia 6-4, 6-2. The 28-year-old Tenerife native converted nine of his nine break-point chances to advance after one hour and 37 minutes. Carballes Baena, ranked World No. 97, is into his first tour-level semi-final of the season, and third in his career.

Coria knocks out Garin

In the bottom half of the draw, Federico Coria upset No. 2 seed Cristian Garin of Chile 6-4, 4-6, 6-2 to record his best win of his career. The in-form Argentine, who sits at a career-high ranking of World No. 77 after finishing runner-up at the inaugural Salzburg Open ATP Challenger to compatriot Facundo Bagnis last week, broke the World No. 18 six times and won 66 per cent of his first-service points to prevail after two hours and 33 minutes.

Bring on the Semi-Final 👏🇦🇷@fedeecoria #NordeaOpen pic.twitter.com/J0KRvsqXch

— Tennis TV (@TennisTV) July 16, 2021

Coria will next play Yannick Hanfmann. The big-serving German stopped the run of French qualifier Arthur Rinderknech, winning 6-4, 6-3. Hanfmann won 93 per cent of his first-service points to reach his first semi-final of the season after 86 minutes.

“I am feeling great here, playing on this court in this atmosphere,” Hanfmann said in his post-match interview. “He has a good serve but I returned well and used my chances. My serve was solid and I didn’t do too many mistakes. In the end it comes to serving and returning and that was key today.”