After enjoying plenty of junior success, French teenager Corentin Moutet is ready to show off his rapidly improving game at the pro level.

Competing at this week’s $50,000 ATP Challenger Tour event in Cherbourg, France, the 17 year old came through qualifying to reach his first Challenger quarter-final. Moutet defeated Jeremy Jahn of Germany in the opening round and then scored the biggest win of his young career over Canadian Steven Diez, currently No. 173 in the Emirates ATP Rankings.

Although he lost on Friday to fellow Frenchman Kenny De Schepper, Moutet is taking plenty of positives from this week.

“I’m so happy to be in a Challenger quarter-final for the first time. It means a lot to me,” said Moutet. “I’ve played five great matches and had my best victory against a player in the Top 200. I want to continue to improve and be more regular in my work, putting 100 per cent into all of my matches.”

Moutet primarily compared in ITF Futures events last year, winning two tournaments. Although he only plays sporadically in ITF Junior events, he stands at No. 12 in the ITF Junior Rankings due to outstanding results including reaching the boys’ singles semi-finals last month at the Australian Open.

But the young Frenchman is focused on a long pro career. After his outstanding run in Cherbourg, he hopes to soon become a regular fixture in Challenger events.

“Cherbourg is a great event with a great audience supporting all of the French players, so I’ve really been enjoying it a lot,” said Moutet. “I’ve mainly been playing Futures events and junior tournaments, so being able to compete in a Challenger is a great experience for me.”

Mikhail Kukushkin is on a hot streak at the Memphis Open, powering into the semi-finals on Friday with a convincing 6-0, 6-4 win over fourth seed Steve Johnson.

Kukushkin dropped just 10 points in shutting out Johnson to take the opening set. The American found his form in the second set and sprinted to a 4-1 lead, but Kukushkin responded brilliantly by winning five consecutive games to prevail in 70 minutes.

The unseeded player evens his FedEx ATP Head2Head record with Johnson at 2-2. Kukushkin has been in dominant form this week, dropping just 14 games in three matches. He is now into his first ATP World Tour semi-final since Sydney in January 2015.

Next up for Kukushkin is the winner between Nikoloz Basilashvili and qualifier Matthew Ebden.

Fourth seed Pablo Carreno Busta moved into his first semi-final of 2017 on Friday at the Argentina Open in Buenos Aires, outlasting fifth seed and fellow Spaniard Albert Ramos-Vinolas 6-3, 4-6, 6-4 in a marathon match.

Little separated the players in the early stages, but Carreno Busta went on a four-game run down 2-3 to grab the opening set. Ramos-Vinolas fought back by grabbing the lone break of serve in the second set at 4-4. The fifth seed went up 3-1 in the deciding set, but Carreno Busta saved his best tennis for the end by winning five of the last six games to prevail in two hours and 11 minutes.

Carreno Busta improves his FedEx ATP Head2Head record against Ramos-Vinolas to 2-0, having prevailed against him in a third-set tie-breaker in February 2016 in Sao Paulo. He is making his fourth consecutive appearance in Buenos Aires, but had never won a match here until this year. Carreno Busta currently sits at a career-high No. 25 in the Emirates ATP Rankings.

Next up for him is Alexandr Dolgopolov, who advanced 7-5, 6-4 over Gerald Melzer. The Ukrainian is also through to his first ATP World Tour semi-final of the season. Dolgopolov caused the biggest upset so far this week in Buenos Aires by taking out second seed Pablo Cuevas in the second-round. 

Third seed David Goffin booked a maiden ABN AMRO World Tennis Tournament semi-final on Friday courtesy of a 6-4, 1-6, 6-3 triumph over fifth seed Grigor Dimitrov.

In a repeat of last week’s Garanti Koza Sofia Open final, Goffin exacted revenge on Dimitrov in more than two hours of enthralling action to clinch his first victory over the in-form Bulgarian.

“It was an amazing match, from the first point until the last, with great intensity,” said Goffin. “I decided to be really aggressive from the first ball. That was the key, to show him I was ready to be aggressive. He was really solid in the second set, so it was hard to maintain that level, but in the end I found my best tennis to finish the match.”

Before 2017, Goffin had not won a match in Rotterdam in three attempts. “Now I love this tournament,” joked the Belgian. “Even though I didn’t win a match here before, they were close. This year I’ve come here with more confidence. That’s why I’ve won some tough matches. I’m really happy to be in the semi-finals for the first time.”

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The World No. 11 kept Dimitrov off balance in a series of extended rallies to claim a first set lead. However, Dimitrov had won 16 of his first 17 matches in 2017, which included two ATP World Tour titles, and replicated his recent form to force a decider.

Back-to-back passing shot winners secured Goffin an immediate break in the final set. Dimitrov pressed the third seed, but Goffin maintained his advantage and progressed to the final four to meet qualifier Pierre-Hugues Herbert.

The Frenchman, currently ranked World No. 109 in the Emirates ATP Rankings, claimed his first Top 10 singles victory with a 6-4, 7-6(3) win over second seed Dominic Thiem. Herbert will contest his second ATP World Tour singles semi-final on Saturday having dropped just nine points on serve.

“I played to my strengths, I played really well, served really well and came to the net to hit some good volleys,” said Herbert. “Maybe today this is the style of game players don’t want to play, especially on this fast court.”

A forehand return winner provided the crucial break in game 10 to take the first set for the 25 year old. Herbert held three match points at 5-4 before World No.8 Thiem forced a tie-break. The Rotterdam qualifier struck a pair of winners before a canny serve-and-volley ended Thiem’s tournament.

The landmark victory guarantees Herbert a Top 70 position in the rankings for the first time. Alongside partner Nicolas Mahut, the Frenchman will also contest a doubles semi-final on Saturday.

Herbert claims his doubles success, which includes eight ATP World Tour-level titles, has benefited his singles performances. “This is evident for me. For sure it has helped me a lot. If I hadn’t played finals of Grand Slams or matches in Davis Cup, I wouldn’t have been able to hold my nerve like I did,” added the Frenchman. “At 4-4 (second set) I had break points to save, at 5-4 I had a 0-40 game but couldn’t make it. I stayed calm and that helped me a lot to stay focused to win in straight sets.”