Almaty Open: Vukic upsets Tiafoe in quarter-finals

Australian Aleksandar Vukic reached the semi-finals of the Almaty Open by defeating American Frances Tiafoe, the top seed, 6-2, 7-6 (11) at Almaty Arena on Friday.

Vukic needed 91 minutes to see off Tiafoe in a match that concluded with a dramatic tiebreak that saw the American save four match points.

The Australian produced exceedingly great numbers during the match, hitting a total of 13 aces and 35 winners against the top seed’s six and 17, respectively, keeping his serve unchallenged throughout.

Vukic, ranked No 85, will play the winner of the match between Russian Karen Khachanov, the No 3 seed, and Kazakh wildcard Beibit Zhukayev next.

In the previous rounds of the Almaty tournament, the Australian won against James Duckworth (6-4, 7-5) and Frenchman Adrian Mannarino, the No 8 seed (7-6 (4), 6-3).

Tiafoe, ranked No 15, won against qualifier Daniel Evans (6-7 (10), 7-6 (4), 6-3) in the previous round of the Almaty tournament.

Almaty ATP 250, other last eight results (Almaty Arena, hard, USD 1.036.700, most recent results first):

• Karen Khachanov vs. Beibit Zhukayev
• Francisco Cerundolo (4) beat Alexander Shevchenko: 6-2, 6-3
• Gabriel Diallo beat Alejandro Tabilo (2): 3-6, 6-3, 6-4

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