Rafael Nadal inched closer to a 10^th title at the Barcelona Open Banc Sabadell on Friday as he withstood a spirited challenge to defeat #NextGenATP star Hyeon Chung 7-6(1), 6-2 in the quarter-finals.

“He was playing at a very high level throughout the tournament and played well today. He has good potential, [a] great backhand and [is] very quick. He has all the right things to be a good player,” said Nadal. “He had chances in the first set and I’m happy that I started to play better after the first six games.”

The Spaniard will next play Horacio Zeballos, who continued his dream run by knocking off another #NextGenATP player in Karen Khachanov, 6-4, 6-1. Nadal and Zeballos are even in their FedEx ATP Head2Head at 1-1, with both matches coming on clay. The Argentine won their most recent meeting by upsetting Nadal in the championship match at Vina del Mar in February 2013.

“It’s another opportunity for me to fight, to be in the final day and enjoy this tournament,” said Nadal. “I’ll try to get ready for tomorrow now.”

Watch Nadal Hot Shot

The 20-year-old Chung, who is a contender to qualify for the inaugural Next Gen ATP Finals in Milan at the end of the year, came into the contest having not lost a set in five matches. He qualified into the main draw before beating Denis Istomin, Philipp Kohlschreiber and Alexander Zverev.

The Korean was more than a match for nine-time champion Nadal in the opening stages with his aggressive style of play, leading the Spaniard by a service break at 3-1 before eventually succumbing in the tie-break. His challenge fell away in the second set, though, as Nadal’s relentless pressure began to tell. The Spaniard broke in the first and fifth games to wrap up victory in one hour and 44 minutes. He now has a 51-3 record at this ATP World Tour 500 clay-court tournament.

The 30-year-old Nadal is coming off a record 10^th title at the Monte-Carlo Rolex Masters. He is also looking to complete la decima this week in Barcelona, and then at the climax of the clay-court season at Roland Garros.

In the final match of the day, Zeballos didn’t drop serve against Khachanov and went on an eight-game run from 3-4 in the first set to prevail in 74 minutes. The 32-year-old Argentine, currently No. 84 in the Emirates ATP Rankings, will look to reach his first ATP World Tour final since his title run four years ago in Vina del Mar.

DOUBLES

Philipp Petzschner and Alexander Peya were flawless in reaching the doubles final with a 6-1, 6-1 win over Fabrice Martin and Edouard Roger-Vasselin. Petzschner/Peya didn’t face a break point en route to prevailing in 46 minutes.

In quarter-final action, Jean-Julien Rojer and Horia Tecau defeated Lukasz Kubot and Mischa Zverev 6-3, 6-4. They’ll next play Florin Mergea and Aisam-Ul-Haq Qureshi on Saturday.

Top seed Lucas Pouille booked his spot in the semi-finals of the Gazprom Hungarian Open on Friday as he defeated Martin Klizan 6-4, 6-3 in Budapest.

The Frenchman saved two match points to edge Jiri Vesely in his opening second-round match on Thursday, but had an easier time against Klizan, claiming victory in 84 minutes as he saved five of seven break points.

“I think it was a great match,” said Pouille. “It was much better than yesterday. My level is increasing and that’s good because tomorrow I know it’s going to be a tough one. I’m very happy with my performance today.”

The 23-year-old Pouille is coming off his second ATP World Tour Masters 1000 semi-final showing at last week’s Monte-Carlo Rolex Masters (l. to Ramos-Vinolas) and improved to a 7-1 mark on clay for the season.

Currently at a career-high No. 14 in the Emirates ATP Rankings, Pouille is bidding to win his second ATP World Tour title, adding to his victory in Metz last year.

For a place in the final, Pouille will face sixth seed Paolo Lorenzi, who defeated Andrey Kuznetsov 6-4, 6-4 in one hour and 33 minutes, fending off a late fightback from the Russian after leading 5-1 in the second set. “I think it was one of my best matches of the year,” said Lorenzi. “He was playing really good tennis. I’m very happy about the match.”

Pouille leads Lorenzi 2-0 in their FedEx ATP Head2Head series, including victory over the Italian last week in Monte-Carlo. Lorenzi is looking to reach his second ATP World Tour final of the season, after finishing runner-up on clay in Quito in February (l. to Estrella Burgos).

In doubles semi-final action, fourth seeds Brian Baker and Nikola Mektic defeated second seeds Treat Huey and Max Mirnyi 6-4, 6-2.

After retaining his title at the ATP Challenger Tour event in Qingdao, China, last weekend, Janko Tipsarevic tweeted #keepdigging.

The former World No. 8 in the Emirates ATP Rankings has had to be incredibly patient, with the best part of two years on the sidelines. Persistent foot issues, specifically in his left heel, which included two surgeries to remove a benign tumor, and then right knee patella tendinitis, kept the 32 year old out of competitive action until the spring of 2016.

He was finally back on court and raring to go, but the Serbian had plummeted to World No. 528 this time last year. Within 12 months, Tipsarevic’s dedication has seen him soar up the ranking as the biggest 52-week mover into the Top 100 of the Emirates ATP Rankings. Before playing the Challenger in Anning, China, this week, the Tecnifibre player had risen an astounding 457 places to World No. 71.

Biggest 52-Week Moves To Top 100 Of Emirates ATP Rankings

To put that jump into context, 2009 US Open champion Juan Martin Del Potro’s much heralded 2016 comeback launched the Argentine 304 spots from No. 337 to No. 33.

Another standout mover is #NextGenATP prospect Danill Medvedev. The Russian is embedded in the Top 100 courtesy of a 202-position rise to World No. 63.

Despite achieving such an impressive and rapid return to the Top 100, Tipsarevic is still eager to keep climbing.

“If I am injury free, my goal for the end of the season would try to be around No. 30 in the rankings,” claimed Tipsarevic, which would provide a seeding for Grand Slam events. “I’m not thinking about whether I’m No. 80, No. 90 or No. 70, because my goal is to get back into the Top 30.”

He started 2017 with two ATP Challenger Tour titles in Bangkok. This week in Anning, Tipsarevic has reached the semi-finals without dropping a set.

“I choose to come to Asia, instead of playing on the clay in Europe, because I truly love playing in Asia,” added the Serbian. “It doesn’t matter if it’s the ATP World Tour or the ATP Challenger Tour, I always pick up a lot of points here.”

.@TipsarevicJanko successfully defends his title in Qingdao, needing seven match points to edge #Otte 63 76(9). 14th #ATPChallenger title. pic.twitter.com/48VbbKnc1z

— ATP Challenger Tour (@ATPChallenger) April 23, 2017

Combining his three titles and continued success in Kunming, Tipsarevic is 18-0 in ATP Challenger Tour matches this season.

The Qingdao success clinched his 14th Challenger title with a 6-3, 7-6(9), victory over qualifier Oscar Otte, who he could meet again in the Kunming final.

“I have a lot of expectations as I feel I’m playing a lot better than last year. I had some tough opponents (in Qingdao), so I was extremely happy to defend my title without dropping a set. I feel it will give me a lot of confidence for the next Challengers coming up.”

Two qualifiers posted upsets in quarter-final action on Friday at the Gazprom Hungarian Open in Budapest.

In-form Aljaz Bedene recorded his 20^th win in his past 21 matches at all levels as he ousted second seed Ivo Karlovic 6-4, 6-3 in 63 minutes. The Briton has been on a tear on the ATP Challenger Tour in recent weeks, winning titles in Irving, Sophia Antipolis and Barletta.

“The conditions are slow and he prefers quicker conditions,” said Bedene. “I started the match really well, played a few really good points on the return, broke the first game, and was serving really well throughout the whole match.”

Visit Tecnifibre On The Road Landing

After dropping just five points on serve to defeat Karlovic, Bedene is now through to his first ATP World Tour semi-final since Chennai 2016 and goes on to face fellow qualifier Laslo Djere, who saved a match point as he shocked fourth seed Fernando Verdasco 2-6, 7-6(4), 6-2.

Djere’s run was on the brink of ending when he trailed 2-6, 4-5 and faced match point on his serve at 30/40. But he held on, won the ensuing tie-break, before breaking Verdasco in the second, sixth and eighth games of the decider. The Serbian is enjoying good support this week, as he also speaks Hungarian.

“It was a really tough match,” said Djere. “I was a little bit tired at the beginning, but as time passed I felt better and better. It was raining and the conditions were difficult because it was a little bit slow. But in the second set I started to play better and I really felt I could win the match.”

World No. 184 Djere is the second-lowest-ranked semi-finalist of 2017 behind No. 208 Casper Ruud at Rio de Janeiro. The 21 year old has recorded the first four tour-level wins of his career this month, reaching the second round in Marrakech before his three wins at this ATP World Tour 250 clay-court tournament in Budapest to reach the last four.

World No. 1 Andy Murray avoided a second defeat in two weeks to a red-hot Albert Ramos-Vinolas. The 10^th seed served for a spot in the final four, but Murray fought through the Spaniard and a vocal crowd on Friday at the Barcelona Open Banc Sabadell to advance 2-6, 6-4, 7-6(4).

“It was very similar to the match in Monte-Carlo, except in that match I was the one who had chances there, and today he had more chances to win. I feel like I was a little more aggressive at the end of the second and third sets and then played a good tie-break,” said Murray. “I’m obviously tired, but that’s why it was important for me to get matches, especially ones like today. It’s good physically to have the long ones.” 

The victory was particularly meaningful to Murray, who let a 4-0 lead slip in the deciding set of their match last week in the third round of the Monte-Carlo Rolex Masters. Murray will next play fourth seed Dominic Thiem, who had a much easier time in defeating lucky loser Yuichi Sugita 6-1, 6-2 in 52 minutes. Murray leads his FedEx ATP Head2Head against Thiem 2-0, but they have never played on clay.

“I’ve never reached the semi-finals here before, so that’s good. It’s nice to do that, but I’d like to reach the final now,” said Murray. “It’s one of the biggest clay-court events on the ATP World Tour just because of the history. A lot of great players have played here and won in the past.”

More: Murray Extends Lopez Dominance In Barcelona

Murray struggled to find his footing early in the match, allowing Ramos-Vinolas to go on a five-game run before the Spaniard comfortably held serve to grab the opening set. The top seed was in danger as he trailed 0/40 on his serve at 4-4 in the second set, but he saved all three break points. Murray then converted on his first break point chance in the next game to send the match into a decider.

Both men began to feel the pressure of the occasion, with Ramos-Vinolas showing visible frustration at his mistakes and Murray questioning several line calls. A pair of forehand errors from Murray at 4-4 in the final set gave Ramos-Vinolas a crucial break and a chance to close out the contest, but the 10^th seed shockingly hit three unforced errors to level the set at 5-5.

The battle went into a tie-break, where Murray came alive with a backhand return winner for a 2/0 mini-break advantage. A gorgeous serve-and-volley play produced a 6/3 lead for the top seed and he made good on his second match point to wrap up the match just one minute shy of three hours. 

Fourth seed Thiem lost serve at the beginning of both sets against Sugita, who has had a career week with wins over Tommy Robredo, Richard Gasquet and Pablo Carreno Busta. But Thiem ended the strong run of the Japanese with victory in under an hour, hurting the right-hander with his sliced backhand.

“Today the conditions were very good for my game,” said Thiem of the warm, sunny weather, compared with cool and wet conditions earlier in the week. “It’s a little bit higher bounce. Yesterday was really tricky, very cold.

Watch Thiem Hot Shot

“Today was my best match. I was very focused and aggressive from the beginning. I knew he was in great shape after beating three great players before me. My game plan was to take him out of his comfort zone. I sliced a lot and tried to play with high spin.”

The 23-year-old Thiem is bidding to win his second ATP World Tour clay-court title of the season, following victory in Rio de Janeiro in February (d. Carreno Busta).