Spurred on by strong Italian support on Friday at the Plava Laguna Croatia Open Umag, top seeds Simone Bolelli and Fabio Fognini advanced to the final at the ATP 250 event.
The Italians earned a 6-0, 7-6(5) win against Francisco Cabral and Tomislav Brkic to reach their fourth tour-level final of the season. Seeking their seventh title as a team, Bolelli/Fognini saved all six break points against them while converting on three of seven break chances.
The 2022 Sydney and Bastad champions will face Lloyd Glasspool and Harri Heliovaara in the final after the British/Finnish pair knocked off second seeds Rafael Matos and David Vega Hernandez 6-1, 5-7, 10-8. The second seeds are bidding for their third title as a team and second this season (Hamburg).
Kitzbühel Final Set
Both semi-finals at the Generali Open required two tie-break sets. Top seeds Tim Puetz and Michael Venus earned a 7-6(6), 7-6(0) win against third seeds Kevin Krawietz and Andreas Mies, while Pedro Martinez and Lorenzo Sonego were 7-6(9), 7-6(2) winners against Robin Haase and Philipp Oswald.
Puetz/Venus have not dropped a set en route to Saturday’s final. By contrast, Martinez/Sonego have been living on the edge all week. Just as in the semi-final, they won their opening match in a pair of tie-break sets before surviving a Match Tie-break in the quarter-finals.
Ram/Sock Book Atlanta Showdown
Rajeev Ram and Jack Sock won Friday’s lone doubles match at the Atlanta Open, downing Steve Johnson and Tommy Paul 7-5, 6-4 in an all-American quarter-final. The third seeds were four-of-eight on their break chances in an entertaining match that closed play on the stadium court.
Their victory sets up a semi-final showdown against reigning Australian Open champions Thanasi Kokkinakis and Nick Kyrgios, with the popcorn clash set for Saturday evening.