Schwartzman, Ruud to semifinals at Argentina Open 2020

Diego Schwartzman, Casper Ruud, Ignacio Londero and Pedro Sousa advanced into semifinals at the 2020 Argentina Open in Buenos Aires.

The 8th seeded Casper Ruud kicked-off the day full of quarterfinal matches in Buenos Aires against Dusan Lajovic. The third-seeded Serbian defeated Pedro Martinez in the second round without losing a set. However, the young Norwegian remained flawless in Argentina also against Lajovic. Ruud defeated his opponent 7-5, 6-1 to secure his semifinal spot.

The home fans had a lot to watch in a second quarterfinal clash. Ignacio Londero and Guido Pella brought an all-Argentinian match to the home crowd. The unseeded Londero was more successful and took care of the second upset on the home soil for Pella in one week. Londero defeated countryman Pella 6-4, 7-6 in almost 2 hours.

The joy of Argentinian fans continued also after almost 4 hour battle between Schwartzman and Cuevas. The first-seeded Argentinian lost the first set despite having 3 breakpoints at 5-5 in the first set. Schwartzman lost 10 out of the following 12 points to lose the first set 5-7.

The second set brought a lot of drama. The set reached tie-break which did not seem to end. Cuevas had 4 match points but did not manage to convert any. On the other hand, Schwartzman converted his 3rd set point to force a decisive set after winning 13-11 in a tie-break. Also, the third set lasted more than 60 minutes as players played another 12 games. Schwartzman converted his 3rd matchpoint to win the set 7-5 and secure the second semifinal in Argentina in 2 weeks.

In the semifinal, the Argentinian will meet Pedro Sousa. The Portuguese defeated Thiago Monteiro in a match of unseeded players. World no. 145 reached the first ATP semifinals of the season after winning 7-6, 6-4 in the quarterfinals of Argentina Open.