From Houston to Marrakech: Etcheverry and Navone do not stop their triumphal march and are already semi-finalists

Tomas Etcheverry, 30th in the world ranking, it took him 52 minutes to beat Michael Mmoh (123rd) and qualified for the semifinals of HoustonATP250, tournament in which they defend the points from the final they reached last year.

It’s not that he achieved a landslide victory, but that he managed to win so quickly because his rival withdrew due to physical problems. Etcheverry had won the first set 6-3 and was down 1-0 in the second when Mmoh approached the net and shook his hand. They stood there talking for a few seconds and the American touched the inside of his left leg.

“Come Houston. Get well soon, Michael,” the 24-year-old Argentine wrote on a piece of glass that they placed over the lens of one of the cameras.

It was Tomy’s second win since he had to abandon his Argentine Open quarterfinal match against Chilean Nicolás Jarry due to a torn semimembranosus muscle in his right leg. He returned to the competition at the Masters 1000 in Miami, where he was eliminated by Andy Murray, and now advances to Houston after beating the Colombian Daniel Galán and Mmoh himself.

His next rival will be another local: Ben Shelton, the big favorite to win the title, or Brandon Nakashima. Meanwhile, at the bottom of the scoreboard are Frances Tiafoe, the reigning champion who will face Jordan Thompson, and the Italian-Argentine Luciano Darderi, executioner of Francisco Cerúndolo in the round of 16, face to face with Marcos Giron.

The summary of Etcheverry’s victory

Another Argentine who will play in a semi-final

Like Etcheverry, Mariano Navone He also made it into the top four, but in his case in ATP250 from Marrakech. He beat the Australian with solvency Aleksandar Vukic by 6-2 and 6-4 and qualified for the second time in his career for this example of a major circuit tournament.

Navone, finalist in Rio this season, He is going through the best moment of his career. He is virtually 51st in the world, his best ranking, and could break into the Top 40 if he can win the title. He will face the Italian Matteo Berrettini, executioner of his compatriot Lorenzo Sonego.

The other semi-final will be played by the reigning champion, the Spaniard Roberto Carballés, who beat the American Nicolas Moreno in three sets (6-4, 4-6 and 6-4), and the Russian Pavel Kotov, who beat the Italian Fabio Fognini 6-1 and 6-2.