Top seeds Tiafoe, Tabilo upset at Almaty Open

On Thursday at the Almaty Open, Frances Tiafoe lost an epic tiebreak against Dan Evans but went on to win the match. 

The top seed lost another marathon tiebreak on quarterfinal day and this time it marked the match’s conclusion. 

Aleksandar Vukic upset the 15th-ranked American 6-2 7-6 (11) at the Almaty Arena to reach a second ATP semifinal this year and third overall. 

Glancing at his record, the world No. 85 isn’t overawed facing higher-ranked opposition, especially of late. 

He improved to 10-5 in his last 15 outings against such foes. That included taking out defending champion Adrian Mannarino in the second round and it bodes well for his next clash against Karen Khachanov. 

But Tiafoe may have also felt the effects of his draining three-set win over Evans in the night session. 

The opening set lasted 32 minutes, with the quick pace continuing for most of the second. 

Tiafoe managed to escape at 4-4 when he saved two break points to pave the way for the nerve-jangling tiebreak. 

Vukic held two serves at 5-4 but double faulted. He responded with an ace to bring up a match point, only to send a second-serve backhand return tamely into the net. 

A volley winner from the US Open semifinalist and ace staved off two more match points but a forehand on the first of Tiafoe’s two set points with Vukic in trouble skewed wide. 

Vukic’s backhand despair continued on his fourth match point when — after bossing the rally — another one sailed into net. 

Finally, on the fifth match point, Vukic’s backhand brought him joy. His backhand passing shot gave Tiafoe a difficult volley and Vukic then pounced with a forehand to advance. 

«Pretty overwhelmed,» Vukic said when asked how he felt. «The tiebreak was pretty crazy. I think we were both a little bit nervous. Pretty obvious. 

«The crowd was really getting into it, so the atmosphere was there. I was trying to relax myself. I guess this is what it is all about, these moments, you feel these emotions.»

How does the 28-year-old who went to college in the US plan on recovering? 

«I might go to the driving range,» he said with a smile. «We got one right next to the hotel. So I might unleash some balls or something like that to get some emotion out, but it’s been so nice here. The food’s been so great, everyone is so welcoming here.» 

Earlier on centre court at Kazakhstan’s lone ATP stop, Canada’s Gabriel Diallo rallied to beat second-seed Alejandro Tabilo 3-6 6-3 6-4. 

The Toronto-born Tabilo broke the 6-foot-8 Diallo for the first time this week before being pegged back in the second. 

The start of the third settled matters. 

Diallo saved a break point at 0-1 thanks in large part to a forehand that only just caught the baseline and prompted a wry smile from the Chilean lefty. 

The 23-year-old broke in the next game and didn’t look back to reach a first ATP semifinal and move inside the Top 100 in the live rankings for the first time. Big accomplishments. 

A cousin who lives in Almaty has been watching Diallo’s matches this week. 

Tough day for home players 

Diallo meets Francisco Cerundolo on Saturday. 

The Argentine tallied his first ATP hard-court semifinal since the 2022 Miami Masters by dispatching one of two home players in the quarterfinals, Alexander Shevchenko. 

The world No. 61 got the better of the fourth seed last week in Shanghai in two tight sets, only broken twice and winning 77% of his first-serve points. 

On Friday, though, Cerundolo cleaned up behind his own first serve — losing just two points — and wasn’t broken in his 6-2 6-3 victory. 

«I knew that he was playing good,» said Cerundolo. «I told him at the net. I knew what I had to do.» 

And he did it. 

Shevchenko and wildcard Beibit Zhukayev gave Kazakhstan two home players in the quarterfinals at their home event for the first time ever. 

But Zhukayev suffered the same fate as Shevchenko as Khachanov beat him 6-2 6-4, not facing a break point. 

While Zhukayev has won more than 80% of first-serve points in their two matches, the number drops to around 30% behind his second serve. 

«I felt like I was putting a lot of pressure to him on his serve, which is his main weapon,» said third-seed Khachanov, into his first semifinal since February. «He serves incredible. I was really pushing, especially on the second serve.»