Dodig Ousts Top Seed Goffin In Umag

Ivan Dodig used home soil to his advantage, ousting top seed David Goffin 7-5, 6-3 to reach the semi-finals of the Plava Laguna Croatia Open Umag on Friday. The 32-year-old Zagreb native fired five aces to advance in 92 minutes. Goffin was making his Umag debut this week after missing the entire grass-court season due to an ankle injury.

“I tried to be aggressive from the first point and tried to play shorter points,” said Dodig. “In the end, today was my day. I really felt good on the court and I was really aggressive.”

Dodig will next face #NextGenATP’s Andrey Rublev, who entered the draw as a Lucky Loser and has now reached his first ATP World Tour semi-final. The Russian advanced Friday with a tight 6-7(5), 6-2, 7-6(2) win over third seed and defending champion Fabio Fognini. In their third meeting, Rublev fired seven aces and won 70 per cent of his first serve points to claim victory after two hours and 16 minutes.

“I have no words to explain it,” said Rublev. “It’s my first semi-final and I’m really happy. This match was so tough. I had to fight for every point. I had to give my all. This match was one of the toughest I’ve ever played.”

Elsewhere, Alessandro Giannessi beat Rogerio Dutra Silva 6-7(3), 6-2, 7-5. The 27-year-old Italian saved eight of the 11 break points he faced to win in a two-hour, 51-minute battle. Giannessi improved his FedEx ATP Head2Head with the Brazilian to 3-0.

Giannessi will next face the winner of the match between Jiri Vesely and Paolo Lorenzi.

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