Ymer Brothers Tasting Success On Tour
There will be celebrations in the Ymer household this weekend after Swedish brothers Elias Ymer and Mikael Ymer reached tour-level semi-finals on Friday.
The pair is currently 7,000 km apart, with older brother Elias competing at the Tata Open Maharashtra in Pune, while Mikael is in action at the Open Sud de France in Montpellier. In competitive fields at the ATP 250 events, they have both produced high-quality tennis to taste much-welcomed success this week.
At the start of the day, qualifier Elias continued his impressive run in India, defeating eighth-seeded Italian Stefano Travaglia 6-4, 7-6(4) to advance into his maiden tour-level semi-final. Inspired by his brother, Mikael then overcame Richard Gasquet 7-5, 6-7(6), 6-1 in Montpellier eight hours later to complete a dream Friday for the brothers.
[FOLLOW ACTION]Elias had not reached the quarter-finals at a tour-level event since Gstaad in 2016 prior to this week, but he has demonstrated an abundance of athleticism and grit to break new ground in Pune. The 25-year-old, currently No. 163 in the ATP Rankings, captured his first Top 20 win against World No. 15 Aslan Karatsev in the second round, while Mikael upset World No. 16 Gael Monfils in Montpellier.
Speaking about his brother’s run after his quarter-final win, Mikael said: “I am proud of him. I was watching his match earlier today. I am really happy for him. He fights a lot. He is my older brother and I am really proud of him. He provides big motivation for me.”
Mikael, who is into his second tour-level semi-final, will face World No. 3 Alexander Zverev on Saturday. The 23-year-old reached the final in Winston-Salem last season, losing to Ilya Ivashka. Elias meanwhile will face Portugal’s Joao Sousa.
The duo has won 10 ATP Challenger Tour titles between them, but both will be aiming to capture their first tour-level title this weekend and spark further celebrations in Sweden.