For the first time in six years, Richard Gasquet is headed to the semifinals of an ATP Masters 1000 event.
The 33-year-old Frenchman beat 11th-seeded Spaniard Roberto Bautista Agut 7-6 (2), 3-6, 6-2 on Friday in the quarterfinals of the Western & Southern Open near Cincinnati.
Gasquet’s last appearance in a Masters 1000 semifinal was a loss to Andy Murray in the 2013 Miami Open.
Up next for Gasquet in Mason, Ohio, is a matchup with 16th-seeded David Goffin. The Belgian moved on when Japanese qualifier Yoshihito Nishioka withdrew because of an illness.
Gasquet said of facing Goffin, “It will be tough. He’s a great player. He’s playing very fast. I need to recover now a little bit to be ready for tomorrow, because, as I said, he doesn’t miss. He’s playing fast, especially with the backhand. It will be a tough battle for me.
“It’s the semis. I have nothing to lose, so I try my best.”
The other semifinal will feature ninth-seeded Daniil Medvedev, who won an all-Russian quarterfinal against qualifier Andrey Rublev, 6-2, 6-3. Medvedev will oppose either top-seeded Novak Djokovic of Serbia or France’s Lucas Pouille, who were facing off Friday night.
Gasquet and Bautista Agut held serve throughout the first set before Gasquet cruised in the tiebreaker. Bautista Agut registered the only two service breaks of the second set, but Gasquet did the same in the third set.
“In the second set, I was a little bit tired,” Gasquet said. “Of course, it was tough. He doesn’t miss a lot, so it’s very difficult to win points. I knew if I wanted to win, I had to put in a lot of energy at the start of the third. I managed to do it. I served better. It was a great third set. I played faster.”
Meanwhile, Medvedev again displayed the strong form that led him to the final last week in Montreal, where he fell to Spain’s Rafael Nadal, and the final in his prior event, in Washington, where he lost to Australia’s Nick Kyrgios.
Medvedev, 23, has reached three other finals this year, winning in Sofia, Bulgaria, and losing in Brisbane, Australia, and Barcelona, Spain.
Against Rublev, Medvedev faced just one break point, which he saved, and he converted four of his seven break chances.
