Buse survives Berrettini, rain delays in Rio de Janeiro QFs
Ignacio Buse added another memorable moment to his 2026 Rio Open presented by Claro campaign on Friday.
One day after upsetting the third seed and home favourite Joao Fonseca, the Buse defeated the former No. 6 player in the PIF ATP Rankings Matteo Berrettini, earning a 6-3, 2-6, 6-2 triumph in a rain-impacted quarter-final clash at the clay-court ATP 500. With the victory, he advanced to the biggest semi-final of his career.
“Today it was really tough because we stopped, I think, four times because of the rain,” Buse said. “The conditions are sometimes fast, sometimes slow. You never know. But it was a difficult match, but I’m happy I managed it in a good way.”
At 5-2 in the third set, the Peruvian was on the verge of victory before the rain disrupted the match for the fourth time. Upon resuming play, he let slip two match points on Berrettini’s serve before eventually earning the win in two hours and 19 minutes.
In his maiden Lexus ATP Head2Head clash with the Italian, Buse saved four of the six break points he faced, according to Infosys ATP Stats. The 21-year-old will face Thiago Agustin Tirante or Alejandro Tabilo for a place in the final.
In other quarter-final action, eighth seed Tomas Martin Etcheverry earned a milestone win. The 26-year-old overcame lucky loser Jaime Faria 7-6(4), 6-4 to notch his 100th tour-level victory. The Argentine crucially saved all five break points he faced in the first set.
“It was a tough tie-break,” Etcheverry said. “I played nicely in the end in the tie-break. And in the second set, I think I played better than the first one.”
In the semi-finals, Etcheverry will face Vit Kopriva, who eased to a 6-4, 6-4 victory against Juan Manuel Cerundolo, during which he did not face a break point. By defeating Cerundolo, Kopriva reached his second tour-level semi-final, five years after reaching his first on his ATP Tour debut in Gstaad in 2021.
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