WINSTON-SALEM, N.C. (AP) — Mikael Ymer and Ilya Ivashka won semifinal matches at the Winston-Salem Open on Friday.
Ymer beat 15th-seeded Carlos Alcaraz 7-5, 6-3, with the 22-year-old from Sweden playing in his first semifinal at the ATP level. The world’s No. 90-ranked player, Ymer trailed in the first set before suddenly running off seven straight games, which secured the first set, then gave him a 3-0 lead in the second.
Alcaraz, the last seeded player in the field and ranked 54th in the world, was trying to reach his second final this year.
Ivashka beat Emil Ruusuvuori 6-2, 6-1. Ivashka held serve throughout while breaking Ruusuvuori five times. That sent him to his first ATP Tour hard-court final, where he will try to become the first player from Belarus to win a tour singles title in 18 years.
The 27-year-old Ivashka is ranked No. 63 in the world.
On the doubles side, the team of Marcelo Arevalo and Matwe Middelkoop won the championship by beating Ivan Dodig and Austin Krajicek 6-7 (5), 7-5, 10-6.
The hard-court tournament is a tuneup for the U.S. Open, the year’s last Grand Slam tournament that starts Monday in New York.
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