Umag [Croatia], July 29 : Stan Wawrinka reached the semifinal of the ongoing Croatia Open on Saturday after the former world number three beat Roberto Carballes Baena in the semifinals.
Wawrinka beat Baena by 6-4, 7-5 and broke his semifinal duck, reaching his first last four since Metz in September 2022.
With this win, Wawrinka has improved his head-to-head record against Baena to 2-0.
"He has a really tough player, I expected a tough match," said Wawrinka in his on-court interview as quoted by ATP.
"I think tonight I was playing well. It is slow conditions so it is not easy to get through, to be aggressive, but my game is there and I am enjoying my time here. I am happy to be in the semi-finals tomorrow," he added.
Wawrinka has been impressive in his first appearance in Umag since 2007 and has won all six sets played at the clay-court ATP 250 event. He aims to clinch his first tour-level title since Geneva in 2017.
For that, he will have to overcome his last challenge, Lorenzo Sonego, who had earlier defeated Jaume Munar 3-6, 6-1, 6-2.
"It is going to be a tough match. He is a great player. He is a big fighter with some amazing shots, so I expect a really tough battle. But hopefully, I can keep playing that well and keep winning," he said.
Matteo Arnaldi also booked his semifinal spot on Croatian clay, beating top-seed Jiri Lehecka 3-6, 6-2, 6-4 in a massive upset.
Arnaldi was quick to recover from a difficult start as he wrapped up the match in two hours and four minutes.
The 22-year-old Arnaldi will be facing Alexei Popyrin in the semi-finals. Popyrin had earlier beaten Dino Prizmic 7-6(2), 7-5 to reach the final four.
The tournament started on July 22 and will end on July 30.
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