The world No. 136 already dispatched US No. 1 Taylor Fritz before prevailing with a 6-2 6-3 victory over the Dane.His reward is a semi-final clash with world No. 1 Jannik Sinner, and this progress is beyond the Frenchman’s wildest dreams.
He said: “I don’t think any words can describe how I feel right now.
“It’s pretty insane to be honest. I cannot believe it. Being here in the semi-finals of a Masters 1000, breaking into the Top 100 and even more with the win tonight — it’s also a lot of money for me, so it’s going to be very helpful for my career. It means a lot to me. I’m very emotional about it.”
“I couldn’t really sleep last night with the win against Taylor. I was just trying to be myself on court, trying to enjoy it as much as I can because I have nothing to lose, that’s the advantage I have of being the underdog here coming from the qualies [qualifiers].
“I think this is going to give me a lot of confidence for the rest of the year and in my career in general.”
It was a hugely impressive day’s work for the 23-year-old, who managed to dispatch the world No. 9 in a mere one hour and 13 minutes.
According to ATP.com, he becomes the eighth-lowest-ranked Masters 1000 semi-finalist in series history.
The Frenchman broke Rune in the fourth game in an epic game which went to deuce seven times before seizing the advantage after a fifth break point.
He drew first blood after his set point and recovered well following a challenging start to the second.
Rune managed to take a break in the opening game, but Atmane broke back at 2-2 and took the double break at 5-3 to regain his advantage.
The job was done after the third match point to set up that clash against Sinner.
Sinner eases past Auger-Aliassime
The reigning champion had a point to prove after losing both of his previous meetings with the Canadian, and he certainly did that in Ohio.
Sinner took a mere one hour and 15 minutes to claim his 11th consecutive win, serving as an ominous sign to his rivals.
He said after the victory: “I felt that I was returning very well today.
“I think that was the key point, which gave me the confidence to serve well. I had a small drop in the second set when he broke me. It could have been a small change but I am happy I broke him back quite early.
“He is a very difficult opponent because he serves well, he moves well. Physically in incredible shape and hits the forehand very well. But we prepared in the best way, also tactically and I felt like today I was playing some great tennis.”
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