Stefanos Tsitsipas reached his third consecutive Western & Southern Open semi-final on Friday, outlasting John Isner 7-6(5), 5-7, 6-3 to set a popcorn clash against World No. 1 Daniil Medvedev.

In a rain-disrupted clash, the Greek weathered a storm on court as he blunted the American’s big-hitting game with heavy topspin, while he clinically took his one break chance in the third set to advance after two hours and 22 minutes in Cincinnati.

“I knew coming into the match that it is never easy playing against him,” Tsitsipas said in his on-court interview. “You have to deal with lots of different variations of play and I think the most important thing is to stay patient because there will be a lot of situations that you can’t really control. That is what I was trying to do today.

“It all came [down] to a few points at the end of that set and I was just able to hang in there and make one more ball back and not give him much to work with.”

With his 45th tour-level win of the season, the 24-year-old has improved his ATP Head2Head series record against Isner to 5-2. He will look to reach his first final at the hard-court event when he faces Medvedev on Saturday in what will be a difficult test, with the top seed leading the Greek 7-2 in their ATP Head2Head series.

“I am going to have to play my game,” Tsitsipas said looking ahead to his match against Medvedev. “I have been playing well so far. Of course an obstacle like Daniil is never easy. I am going to try and approach my game in the most precise and best manner and let my tennis do the talking.”

Tsitsipas has enjoyed strong results at ATP Masters 1000 events this season, retaining his title in Monte Carlo before he reached the semi-finals in Madrid and the championship match in Rome.

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In a hard-fought first set, both gave little away on serve, meaning a tie-break was left to decide the opener. With Tsitsipas leading 4/3, rain briefly forced the players off court. When they returned, the Greek zoned in to seal the set.

Isner refused to go away in the second set and was rewarded for his aggressive returning in the 11th game when he broke to lead, before he rallied from 0/30 to serve out the set.

In a close third set, it was Tsitsipas who found an extra gear. The fourth seed took his only break point of the match to move 5-3 ahead and then showcased mental toughness to hold from 0/30 and triumph.

Tsitsipas looked to step inside the baseline and attack for large periods of the match. As shown in his INSIGHTS: Conversion Score, the Greek (76 per cent) had a slightly higher success rate than Isner (72 per cent) when moving forward, which was the key to his victory.

Isner, who advanced to the final in Cincinnati in 2013, edged Benjamin Bonzi, Hubert Hurkacz and Sebastian Korda in three sets earlier this week to reach his first Masters 1000 quarter-final of the season.

Did You Know?
Tsitsipas holds a 7-1 record against Americans this season, with his one defeat coming against Jenson Brooksby in Indian Wells.

Daniil Medvedev is one of the game’s great defenders from deep behind the baseline. On Friday, he produced one of the great defensive plays of the year to steal a point – and a break of serve – from Taylor Fritz that put him on the path to victory in the quarter-finals of the Western & Southern Open.

Trying to stave off break point to avoid going down 0-2, Fritz fired a 121mph serve that stretched Medvedev nearly outside the doubles alley at the beginning of what proved to be a 24-shot rally. The American immediately found himself on offense, standing on top of the baseline for much of the rally while Medvedev was nearly in the front row of the stands, forced to lunge for several balls, but determined to stay in the point and force an error.

After Medvedev struck a backhand down-the-line, which clipped the net, the top-ranked American hit a forehand approach shot cross-court that sent Medvedev outside the TV camera’s view. At full stretch and running out of court at a rapid clip, the four-time ATP Masters 1000 champion managed to throw up a massive moon-ball lob that Fritz took as a baseline overhead.

Medvedev returned the bounced overhead and Fritz made an unforced forehand error on the next ball, perhaps going for too much in the belief that Medvedev would again track down any response that didn’t paint the line.

In his on-court interview, Medvedev enthusiastically recounted the pivotal point.

“I got a little bit unlucky with the net at first because I was going down the line. It was a pretty good shot,” Medvedev said. “I felt he was tiring in the rally, so it could be a gamechanger.

“Finally, he had an easy shot, so I just ran actually. Usually you lose nine out of 10 points like this, maybe even 19 out of 20, so I just tried to put the ball as high as possible to make it tough for him and pray the ball goes in.

“If you look at my reaction first, I thought the ball was probably going out. You can’t judge the trajectory like this, so I stopped playing. I was also really tired. But when I saw the ball dropped in, I was like ‘Okay, let’s continue’, and I managed to put the next ball in and it was enough for him to miss. Sometimes these points happen and if it is on a break point it is a great feeling.”

Medvedev, who will remain World No. 1 at least through the US Open, will play the winner of John Isner and Stefanos Tsistsipas in the semi-finals Saturday.

Daniil Medvedev’s quest for a fifth ATP Masters 1000 title moved into top gear at the Western & Southern Open Friday, when he downed Taylor Fritz 7-6(1), 6-3 to reach the semi-finals in Cincinnati.

The top seed backed up his impressive victories over Botic van de Zandschulp and Denis Shapovalov with an all-round display against the American to advance after one hour and 38 minutes.

The 26-year-old fired 32 winners as he laid blows with his racquet, while he hung tight in the key moments during their first ATP Head2Head meeting, saving three set points in the first set to improve to 9-3 in Masters 1000 quarter-finals.

Medvedev suffered a disappointing second-round defeat against Nick Kyrgios in Montreal last week. However, he has found his rhythm in Cincinnati and is now 14-4 at the hard-court event.

“Cincinnati fast courts and fast balls and I have always liked it. But always tricky matches, especially between two great servers,” Medvedev said in his on-court interview. “I feel like me and Taylor served good, even if we aren’t John [Isner] maybe! I knew that it was going to be a tight match.

“The first set he was on top of me a little bit. He had many more chances than I did on my serve, but I managed to stay in. There were some set points where I could have missed and no one would have talked about it, it would have been normal. But I managed to stay in the set and that helped me win the match.”

Medvedev lifted his maiden Masters 1000 trophy at the event in 2019, before he enjoyed a run to the semi-finals last season. He will look to continue his strong record in Ohio when he faces Greek Stefanos Tsitsipas or American John Isner in the last four.

The 2020 Nitto ATP Finals champion, who is assured of retaining his No. 1 status in the Pepperstone ATP Rankings until at least through the US Open, is aiming to capture his second title of the year and 14th crown on hard overall. The four-times Masters 1000 champion won the trophy in Los Cabos last month, while he reached finals at the Australian Open, ‘s-Hertogenbosch and in Halle.

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In front of a lively American crowd, both came out swinging as Fritz looked to penetrate Medvedev’s defence with his flat groundstrokes. The 11th seed returned with great depth throughout and had three set points in the set on Medvedev’s serve. However, the top seed stayed consistent from the baseline to save one at 4-5 and two more at 5-6, before he raced away in the tie-break to lead.

Medvedev was locked in at the start of the second set and won a mammoth rally to clinch an early break. The 26-year-old acted as a brick wall from the baseline as he covered the ground to hang in the point. He threw up a huge lob, which to his surprise dropped in, before Fritz eventually hit a forehand wide, with Medvedev raising his arms in celebration. The top seed then stayed solid on serve to triumph.

Medvedev now holds a 20-6 record in tie-breaks at Masters 1000 events. A record he is proud of.

“That is great because tie-breaks are a fine thing. We call it a lottery and I do think it is this way a little bit. I remember when I had the crazy run in 2019. I think someone told me once that I won a lot of tie-breaks in a row,” Medvedev said. “I don’t know if it was eight or 12, so I was like, ‘That is cool.’ I just try to do my best and win every point. You win some and lose some. But 20-6 is a good record, so I am happy about it.”

The 11th seed Fritz was aiming to reach his second Masters 1000 semi-final of the season, after soaring to the title in Indian Wells in March. The 24-year-old is currently 10th in the Pepperstone ATP Race To Turin as he looks to qualify for the Nitto ATP Finals for the first time.

Carlos Moya was presented with a chance to make history at the Western & Southern Open in Cincinnati 20 years ago and he grabbed it with both hands. The former No. 1 in the Pepperstone ATP Rankings captured the crown at the ATP Masters 1000, something no other Spaniard had done before him. In the summer of 2002, the Mallorcan beat World No. 1 Lleyton Hewitt 7-5, 7-6(5) to achieve his feat. A glass ceiling had been smashed by a player who was brave, determined and, above all, ready to pounce when opportunity knocked.

It was 11 August 2002 and sport threw up a conundrum that Moya was more than ready to solve.

He had made his way through a draw that was at the mercy of his forehand, a stroke that, with the aid of the Ohio sun, was capable of bringing any player to his knees. It proved too much for French player Ciryl Saulnier and the Dutch Sjeng Schalken, before the American Michael Chang and German Rainer Schuettler also succumbed to its venom. In the semi-final, Juan Carlos Ferrero, just a 22-year-old on his way to the elite, was unable to deal with the barrage.

However, on the day of the final, Cincinnati was about to throw a curveball.

A summer tournament whose intense sunshine would habitually test the fitness of players to the limit had clouded over from one day to the next. As dawn broke, it was considerably overcast, the mercury had plummeted and the water that had been so sought-after during the days of scorching heat, was threatening to fall from the sky. For the players, affected as they are by the impact of temperature on the behaviour of tennis balls, it was a complete game changer.

Just one step from the trophy, and Moya was in trouble. On the other side of the net was the World No. 1; the Australian Lleyton Hewitt. Things did not look good. Moya had to take it to the best player on the planet, a player who was lightning quick and whose legs never tired. A player whose flat ball was deadened on a humid day. The Spaniard would have to stop a man who, just a few weeks earlier had won Wimbledon from the baseline. Standing on the other side of the net was an impenetrable wall.

“Before the match began I was convinced I could win it. But once we started to play I wasn’t really feeling the ball. The conditions were completely different to the previous days,” remembered Moya at the time. “I’d been playing in a lot of sun and heat. I had the feeling that the ball wasn’t bouncing as high. My serve wasn’t helping me so much. Also, there was wind. It takes time to adjust to those conditions.”

The early exchanges were an indication of the scale of the mountain he had to climb. Moya and Hewitt were embroiled in a physical battle, where the Spaniard’s looping shots, so dangerous under a blue sky, were barely caressing the Australian’s armour. At 4-4, in the heat of the battle, the skies opened and the match was stopped for two hours, splitting one of the year’s most important clashes in two.

Having failed to dent the confidence of his adversary, Moya realised he now had an opportunity. Rain meant time; time to put together a plan.

“When the rain came, I left for the locker room, where I started watching the replay of the match,” said the Spaniard at the time. “That’s when I realised that I wasn’t hitting the ball very hard. I could see it on the TV. I told myself ‘I’m in the final because I’ve taken so many risks, because I’ve been hitting the ball really hard. That’s all I have to do!’ After the rain, I was in no doubt about the path I had to take and it worked pretty well for me.”

Instead of giving in to exhaustion after an intense US swing and in a match where every ounce of strength would be key, Moya set about studying exactly what was happening.

“It wasn’t the rain that helped me, it was seeing the replay. I was putting too much topspin on my forehand, but that didn’t bother him because the ball wasn’t kicking up,” he explained. “I decided to go on the attack, to play flatter and look for winners. To try and approach the net and make the points shorter.”

Putting his plan into action, Carlos managed to take the first set. Suddenly the final was his to lose. But then things took a turn for the worse. Hewitt dominated the second set to take a 5-2 lead, a huge advantage in the hands of the world’s best player. Clinging to his new tactics, Moya found two service breaks and let slip two set points, before embarking on an unforgettable tiebreak.

“I thought we were going to a third,” Moya said. “It’s not easy to break back twice. But I decided to relax, I had nothing to lose and I simply played my own game. I looked for winners and everything went wonderfully.”

Moya had defeated the best player in the world and, more importantly, dispelled any doubt that he was still up there himself. The win took him back into the Top 10, a place only within reach of players that have an x-factor, leaving behind the back injury he suffered in 1999, the year that he had reached No. 1 himself. It was a tough blow for a 22-year-old and the first serious setback in his career, also one that would see him drop outside the best 50 players in the rankings.

“Winning here puts me back in the Top 10, something that I have been waiting to do for three seasons, since I was injured. It’s taken me a while to recover, but now I’m playing pretty well again,” recognised a Moya, whose hunger to get back to winning ways knew no bounds. “In my best season, I’d won two titles, before coming here I’d already claimed three, so it was a good year at that point. After this week, it’s excellent. My goal was to get back in the Top 10 and I’ve done it.

“I wasn’t expecting to win the tournament because, although I was playing well, there are many players who are performing well. Hard court is not my favourite surface, but I can adapt to it. It’s a huge surprise to me winning this tournament.”

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His return to the elite hardened the mind of a player who was destined to make history in Spanish tennis. He had suffered the sour taste of being forced to take a step backwards, but now he was back and ready to savour the moment.

“This year, I’ve learnt that you just have to enjoy yourself on court. When you have a tough moment, you have to think that the good ones won’t take long to happen. That’s all,” he explained. “I just want to enjoy the court, that’s the most important thing to me. Feeling healthy, fit. Now I know I’m healthy and ready. When this happens, I know I can be a dangerous player. I haven’t forgotten how to play tennis, even though I’ve been injured for a while. I wasn’t expecting to return to the Top 10, I knew that it would be a tough journey to take. But here I am again.”

The Spaniard, who had taken the titles in Bastad and Umag and come close in Sopot before his breakthrough in Cincinnati, was firing on all cylinders once again with his explosive tennis.

“It’s been a very successful period because I’ve won three tournaments and reached a semi-final in five weeks,” Moya said. “If anyone had told me that a month and a half ago, I would have said they were crazy. But everything is possible for me. If I’m lucky, I can play well and win any tournament.”

The win in Cincinnati, where there had been no Spanish champions in its 104-year history, meant that Carlos had set a new record. The first No. 1 in Spanish tennis, a figurehead for so many, had once again raised the bar where it seemed impossible.

“We’re not talking about a small tournament. This is a Masters Series,” Moya added. “It’s very important to me. I am very proud to be the first Spaniard to achieve various things. This is another one for me. And I feel very happy.”

It had been half a decade since an American man reached three ATP Masters 1000 quarter-finals in the same season, a drought 11th seed Taylor Fritz ended on Thursday at the Western & Southern Open. With his fourth consecutive win over 2021 runner-up Andrey Rublev, 6-7(4), 6-2, 7-5, the 24-year-old earned a place among the last eight and his first matchup with World No. 1 Daniil Medvedev.

Fritz has now reached at least the quarter-finals in Indian Wells, Monte Carlo and Cincinnati, the BNP Paribas Open ultimately resulting in his first-ever Masters 1000 title (def. Rafael Nadal, 6-3, 7-6(5)).

This time last year, Fritz was outside the Top 40 in the Pepperstone ATP Rankings, a string of frustrating opening-round losses in Washington, Toronto and Cincinnati weighing him down. He returned to Ohio in 2022 a different player in so many respects. Last month, the 13th-ranked Californian, whose entourage these days regularly includes a trail of Netflix cameramen seemingly documenting his every move, pushed through to his first major quarter-final at Wimbledon.

“I was playing pretty bad this time last year,” said Fritz. “It’s weird, because last year, I kind of just started playing really good tennis late in the year — the October [edition of] Indian Wells, is kind of where it all started changing for me. I started gaining confidence, playing really good. Up until that point, my ranking had dropped a tonne.”

“I just feel like a different player,” he added.

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Medvedev, who is guaranteed to retain his No. 1 Pepperstone ATP Ranking heading into the US Open thanks to Rafael Nadal’s opening-round defeat, is at home on the Lindner Family Tennis Center, where he took the trophy in 2019. All but one of his 14 career singles titles have come on hard courts, including Masters 1000 crowns in Cincinnati, Shanghai, Paris and Toronto. Though he’s shared the practice court with Fritz, it will be a whole new experiencing facing him with the semi-finals on the line on Friday.

“Taylor is a great player,” observed Medvedev after his 7-5, 7-5 dismissal of Canada’s Denis Shapovalov in the Round of 16. “We practised quite a lot of times before the start of the season. We had a session. I think he beat me. I told my coach, ‘Wow, it can be a good year for him.’ Then he won Indian Wells. Maybe he could have done better in some other tournaments, but he’s a Masters champion. I need to be at my best to try to beat him.”

No. 4 seed Stefanos Tsitsipas will aim for a third straight Western & Southern Open semi-final when he takes the court against American John Isner, a finalist here in 2013 (l. to Nadal, 7-6(8), 7-6(3)). The Greek star owns a 4-2 advantage in ATP Head2Heads, having defeated Isner at this same event, 7-6(2), 7-6(4), in the Round of 16 in 2020.

It’s been a challenging year for Isner, who came into the tournament in danger of falling out of the Top 50 for the first time since 2009. But a run to his first ATP Masters 1000 quarter-final of 2022 should provide just the boost he needs as he heads into the US Open.

“I love playing in North America on the hard courts,” said Isner, at 37 the oldest player remaining in the draw. “It’s tough — last week I wasn’t able to play Canada because I was a little bit nicked up. My knee’s been bothering me, but I’ve been able to get some good treatment.

“I feel pretty mentally refreshed. My family is with me,” he continued. “That actually helps. Putting three kids to bed at night is a bit tiring, but I wouldn’t trade it for anything. I’d rather have them on the road and have them wake me up super early in the morning, because it just puts me in a happy place. I think it allows me to play better tennis, especially in the tight situations.”

Isner defeated his doubles partner, 10th-ranked Hubert Hurkacz of Poland, in the second round for his first Top-10 win of the season, his first since taking down No. 7 Rublev in Toronto this time last year. Tsitsipas has a 16-5 ATP Masters 1000 tournament record this season, his best result the Monte Carlo title.

The American leads the eight Cincinnati quarter-finalists in the INSIGHTS: In Attack metric, having played nearly a third of his shots from attacking positions this week. Learn more about INSIGHTS: In Attack.

After a prolonged stretch away from the court, a healthy Borna Coric has been busy making up for lost time. The Croat, who last year underwent shoulder surgery, stunned No. 2 seed Rafael Nadal on Wednesday night, 7-6(9), 4-6, 6-3, and followed with a big win over another Spaniard, 15th seed Roberto Bautista Agut, 6-2, 6-3. The 25-year-old is in for another challenge in seventh seed Felix Auger-Aliassime, who’s into his fourth consecutive ATP Masters 1000 quarter-final after reaching the stage in Madrid, Rome and his native Montreal.

They haven’t faced each other since 2019, when they split decisions in Miami (Auger-Aliassime, 7-6(3), 6-2)) and Rome (Coric, 6-7(4), 6-3, 6-4).

Former Texas Christian University standout Cameron Norrie brought reigning NCAA titlist Ben Shelton’s dream run to an end in the Round of 16, 6-0, 6-2, earning a quarter-final shot at another streaking 19-year-old, No. 3 seed Carlos Alcaraz. The 2021 Indian Wells champ has come up short in all three of his meetings with the Spaniard, two of those losses coming this year at the Masters 1000 level in Indian Wells (6-4, 6-7(4), 6-3) and Madrid (6-4, 6-3).

Alcaraz, the only player to win multiple Masters 1000 titles in 2022, is the youngest Cincinnati quarter-finalist since Andy Murray in 2006. The teen will rise to No. 2 in the Pepperstone ATP Rankings if he wins the title this week.

The Spaniard paces the quarter-finalists in the INSIGHTS: Conversion metric, winning nearly 80 per cent of points this week in which he’s gained an attacking advantage. Conversely, Auger-Aliassime leads the way in the Steal metric, winning 44.3 per cent of points from defensive positions. Learn more about Conversion and Steal Scores.

The rapid rise of Carlos Alcaraz continues this week at the Western & Southern Open, where his 7-6(4), 6-1 victory against Marin Cilic on Thursday made him the event’s youngest quarter-finalist since Andy Murray 16 years ago.

The Spaniard could move past Rafael Nadal and Alexander Zverev to No. 2 in the Pepperstone ATP Rankings by winning his third ATP Masters title of the season in Cincinnati. After reaching the quarter-finals, he remains at No. 4 in the Pepperstone ATP Live Rankings but is less than 600 points shy of the second spot.

Alcaraz showed great resilience against Cilic on centre court, rebounding strongly after missing out on two set points as he attempted to serve out the first set.

“I know that Marin is a really aggressive player. I had to be really focussed on the match,” Alcaraz said after his victory. “I knew that it was going to be a tough match, that I had to be [mentally] in the match all the time. I knew that I was going to have my chances to break his big serve. So I’m really happy with the performance and the focus in the match.”

The 19-year-old was controlling the rallies and did not drop a point on first serve until he stepped to the line at 5-4 in the opener. But the Croatian picked up his aggression late in the set, and after three consecutive Alcaraz double faults handed back his break advantage, a quick Cilic hold forced his opponent to serve to stay in the set.

Rising to the occasion, Alcaraz got back on the attack to win eight straight points and wrestle back control of the set and match.

“Obviously these kind of things can happen in really close moments,” he said of the serving hiccup. “It’s tough to come back after three double faults in a row to break my serve in that moment, but I am serving really well so I will just train a little bit more tomorrow before the quarter-finals. But I have the confidence pretty high.”

In set two, Alcaraz consolidated an early love break by saving a pair of break points at 2-0. He continued to dictate play and was rewarded with an insurance break late in the set.

Alcaraz wrapped up a strong serving performance with eight aces and an 83 per cent win rate on first serve, outpacing the big-serving Cilic’s four aces and 60 per cent first-serve win rate. The Croatian finished with 27 unforced errors as he was forced to press the issue to stay in the rallies against his in-form opponent.

The Spaniard will next face ninth seed Cameron Norrie, who ended the dream debut of Ben Shelton with a 6-0, 6-2 win on Thursday evening.

Now 17-3 at the ATP Masters 1000s this season, Alcaraz is bidding for his third title at that prestigious level (Miami, Madrid). He is the only player with multiple Masters 1000 titles in 2022.

A set-and-a-break deficit. Two match points faced. No problem for Felix Auger-Aliassime.

The Canadian was in deep trouble Thursday evening in Cincinnati, but rallied past Jannik Sinner 2-6, 7-6(1), 6-1 to reach the quarter-finals of the Western & Southern Open.

“Jannik was just playing too good. I didn’t have a great start, I was missing a lot. But I just had no time. He was playing so fast, so precise, serving well. For a set and a half, it was just too good,” Auger-Aliassime said in his on-court interview. “That game he broke me in the second, returning on the baseline for three returns in a row, you can’t do much better, so I had to give it to him.

“But at the end, I was still on the court trying to find ways, trying to fight and trying to see how I could make him miss a few more balls and to put myself in a competing position and I did that well… To come back and play that way in the tie-break and the third set, that means a lot to me going forward.”

For the first half of the match, Sinner’s power and returning of Auger-Aliassime’s big serve had the 2019 Intesa Sanpaolo Next Gen ATP Finals champion in full control. The 20-year-old led 6-2, 4-2 and later held two consecutive match points at 6-2, 6-5, 15/40, but he was unable to close out the match.

On the first of those match points, Sinner hit a blistering return to seize the offensive, but later missed a high forehand into the top of the net. Auger-Aliassime then crushed a serve-and-forehand combination to stave off the Italian’s next opportunity.

From there, Sinner’s level dipped and Auger-Aliassime found more consistency to completely flip the tone of the clash. The Canadian played a flawless tie-break while his opponent’s game faltered.

Auger-Aliassime now leads the pair’s ATP Head2Head 2-0 after defeating Sinner 6-1, 6-2 on clay three months ago at the Mutua Madrid Open.

“I had to move better after my second serve because you hit a second serve, he plays early and he hits it really hard right at you, so there’s not much you can do. Sometimes it’s too good,” Auger-Aliassime said. “But I had to move my feet a little bit more, start the rally and then see how it goes. I think I did that better.”

This was a critical match in the Pepperstone ATP Live Race To Turin. Auger-Aliassime consolidated sixth place in the Live Race as he tries to qualify for the Nitto ATP Finals for the first time. Sinner is in 15th, but had an opportunity to make up ground this week with a deep run in Ohio.

The seventh seed will next play World No. 152 Borna Coric, who has enjoyed a dream run this week as he continues his recovery from shoulder surgery. The Croatian has upset Rafael Nadal and Roberto Bautista Agut in back-to-back matches.

Did You Know?
Auger-Aliassime has now reached four consecutive ATP Masters 1000 quarter-finals. The Canadian will try to reach his first semi-final at this level since 2019 in Miami when he plays Coric.

In Thursday’s matchup between the reigning US Open champions and the this year’s Australian Open winners, the New York titlists emerged victorious at the Western & Southern Open.

Top seeds Rajeev Ram and Joe Salisbury edged the Australian duo of Thanasi Kokkinakis and Nick Kyrgios 6-7(3), 6-2, 10-8, claiming victory without dropping serve in Cincinnati. The American-British duo saved the only two break points they faced in the opening game of the match but still needed to claim a tight Match Tie-break to earn their first victory since reaching the Wimbledon semi-finals.

After dropping the first-set tie-break and dominating the second set with two breaks, Ram/Salisbury required three match points to seal the Match Tie-break as the Aussies threatened to come back from 6/9 down.

Behind a 91 per cent (41/45) win rate on first serve, the pair advanced to face Wednesday winners Karen Khachanov and Denis Shapovalov in the quarter-finals.

Holger Rune and Stefanos Tsitsipas also won a Match Tie-Break on Thursday, upsetting fifth seeds and Wimbledon finalists Nikola Mektic and Mate Pavic 6-7(5), 6-3, 10-7. The Danish/Greek team converted on three of seven break chances, including in the final game of set two, when a scrambling Tsitsipas lob brought up set point.

Rune/Tsitsipas will next face fourth seeds Marcelo Arevalo and Jean-Julien Rojer in the quarter-finals. The Salvadoran/Dutch team finished as 6-3, 7-6(11) winners after a marathon second-set tie-break against Americans William Blumberg and Steve Johnson.

Second seeds Marcel Granollers and Horacio Zeballos also advanced to the quarter-finals with a 6-3, 6-3 win against Grigor Dimitrov and Andrey Rublev, while sixth seeds Tim Puetz and Michael Venus survived a Match Tie-break to notch a 4-6, 7-6(2), 10-8 victory against Lloyd Glasspool and Harri Heliovaara.