History in Newport: Four locals are in SF for the first time in 39 years | ATP Tour

History in Newport: Four locations are in SF for the first time in 39 years

The finalists will be defined on Saturday

July 19, 2024

Two Americans had already advanced to the semifinals of the Infosys Hall of Fame Open on Thursday: Reilly Opelka and Alex Michelsen. Two compatriots have reached them on Friday in the same round, and under the watchful eye of former world No. 1 Andre Agassi: Christopher Eubanks and Marcos Giron.

The first of them was a 6-2, 4-6, 7-6(3) victory over Australian Aleksandar Vukic to advance to his first semi-final on the circuit since winning his only title so far. It was on the grass of Mallorca last season.

The win couldn’t have come at a better time. And not just because it was witnessed by Andre Agassi, who is in town for this weekend’s Hall of Fame induction ceremony. But also because of his goal of making up lost ground in the rankings.

After a Top 30 run, Eubanks fell to No. 128 in the PIF ATP Rankings after failing to defend his title points in Mallorca and his quarterfinal run at Wimbledon last year. He now has an 8-15 record on the season and is No. 105 in the live rankings.

His next opponent will be Marcos Giron, who defeated Australian Alex Bolt 6-4, 6-1 in the final match of the day in Newport. That result set up a semifinal between four Americans, something that happened this year in Delray Beach but has not happened in Newport since the last century.

The last time 100% of Americans made the semifinals of this event was in 1985, when the protagonists were Gullikson, Pate, Sadri and Mayotte.

“Four Americans in the semis is something we love to see, I’m excited that we’re here,” said Giron, who is already thinking about his next opponent. “I’ve known Chris for a long time, so it’s great to see him step up this week and play really well.”

A win on Saturday could send him to No. 41 in the live rankings and leave him virtually primed to break his career-high in the PIF ATP Rankings (No. 44). It would also take him into his third tour-level final (0-2 record in championship matches).