Jack Draper is thru to the semi-finals of the Qatar Open after a comeback 4-6 6-4 6-3 victory towards Italy’s Matteo Berrettini, on the identical day prime seed Carlos Alcaraz was knocked out.
Berrettini, who defeated Novak Djokovic earlier within the event, confidently claimed the opening set towards Draper in Doha, however didn’t get the job executed within the second.
As an alternative, Draper remained within the battle earlier than enjoying his finest tennis within the third-set decider to clinch victory.
The eighth seed broke Berrettini’s serve for the second time to maneuver 3-1 up within the decider and that proved decisive as he then fended off a break level towards him to steer 5-2 earlier than comfortably serving out for the match.
The Briton will subsequent face Jiri Lehecka for a spot within the ultimate, after the Czech shocked Alcaraz of their quarter-final conflict.
The winner of Friday’s semi-final between Draper and Lehecka – stay on Sky Sports activities – will face both fifth seed Andrey Rublev or the unseeded Felix Auger-Aliassime within the ultimate.
Alcaraz shocked by Lehecka in his quarter-final
High-seed Alcaraz misplaced for simply the second time this yr when Twenty fifth-ranked Lehecka beat him 6-3 3-6 6-4.
Alcaraz’s solely different defeat in 2025 was to Djokovic within the Australian Open quarter-finals. The 21-year-old Spaniard, ranked world No 3, gained the Rotterdam Open earlier this month.
“I’ve talked with my team, with my coach, and honestly I don’t know what I could have done better,” Alcaraz stated. “Honestly, I don’t know. It was kind of difficult feelings, I guess. I have to give credit to him as well, because when he was down, especially in the third set, he didn’t give up.”
Lehecka, 23, stated: “The match was up and down since the beginning. So for me to win a match like that against a player like this is a super big achievement. I believed in myself. I knew that I had the level to produce that kind of tennis.
“I did not again down. I needed to push him to his limits. The best way I trusted my sport was the important thing.”
Earlier, Rublev saved one match point and needed eight of his own to subdue second-seeded Alex de Minaur 6-1 3-6 7-6 (10-8).
Rublev is now into his fourth semi-final in Doha, the place he gained the title in 2020, and subsequent faces Canada’s Auger-Aliassime, who beat Daniil Medvedev when the Russian retired after dropping the primary set 6-3.
“Unfortunately, I had food poisoning. Very disappointed to end my run here in Doha like this as I feel like I was playing well,” Medvedev stated.
Auger-Aliassime stated on courtroom he thought Medvedev was “playing normal” till he retired.
“And then I broke, I held my serve. And he just told [the umpire] that he didn’t want to shake our hands because he was sick. I hope it’s nothing too bad. I was surprised,” the Canadian stated.
Andreeva dumps Swiatek out in straight units to march into Dubai semis
An impressed Mirra Andreeva beat world No 2 Iga Swiatek for the primary time in her profession with a dominant 6-3 6-3 victory because the Russian 17-year-old moved into the semi-finals of the Dubai Obligation Free Championships.
Along with her victory, twelfth seed Andreeva goes into the primary WTA 1000 semi-final of her profession, whereas Swiatek grew to become one other prime seed to exit the event after world No 1 Aryna Sabalenka was knocked out on Wednesday.
Andreeva can also be the youngest semi-finalist in Dubai because the event was first held in 2001 – a major enchancment from her final go to when she was knocked out within the first spherical final yr.
“Honestly, I was really nervous before the match and we played in Cincinnati last year (where Swiatek won their quarter-final match) and it was pretty intense,” Andreeva stated.
“So I just told myself that I played great and I just need to continue to play aggressive and go for my shots. It was also not easy with all the fans [supporting her], but I think we were even. I had a lot of people supporting me.”
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