Unseeded Frenchman Ugo Humbert and No. 8 seed Tomas Machac of the Czech Republic will meet in the final of Australia’s Adelaide International after knocking out the top seeds on Friday.
Humbert outlasted No. 1 Alejandro Davidovich Fokina 6-3, 5-7, 7-6 (4) in two hours and 32 minutes. Both players held serve throughout the decisive set before Humbert completed the upset on his second match point of the tiebreaker.
Machac overcame a slow start in the other semifinal to send No. 2 seed Tommy Paul packing with a 2-6, 6-3, 6-3 win in one hour and 52 minutes. Machac struck eight aces and finished with a 32-23 advantage in winners.
ASB Classic
Third-seeded Czech Jakub Mensik will meet No. 7 Sebastian Baez of Argentina for the championship in Auckland, New Zealand.
The 20-year-old Mensik held off Hungary’s Fabian Marozsan 7-6 (9), 4-6, 6-1 in two hours and seven minutes. He finished with 16 aces and a 38-25 edge in winners while saving five of eight break points.
After completing a rain-delayed 7-5, 6-3 quarterfinal upset of No. 1 seed Ben Shelton, Baez beat another American hopeful in the semifinals with a 6-1, 6-4 victory against Marcos Giron. Baez converted four of 15 break points and Giron finished with more than twice as many unforced errors (34) as winners (15).
–Field Level Media
