Korda sinks Paul in 's-Hertogenbosch, De Minaur downs Raonic

Sebastian Korda reached his second ATP Tour semi-final of the season on Friday at the Libema Open, where he defeated fellow American Tommy Paul 6-4, 6-2.

The 23-year-old produced a dominant display on the lawns in ‘s-Hertogenbosch, where he struck 18 winners and won 84 per cent (27/32) of his first-serve points according to ATP Infosys Stats to earn victory after 67 minutes.

With his 18th tour-level win of the season, Korda improved his impressive Lexus ATP Head2Head record against Paul to 4-1, with this their first meeting on grass.

Korda, who also advanced to the last four on grass at the Queen’s Club in 2023, is chasing his first ATP Tour title since 2021, when he won his maiden trophy at this level in Parma. The seventh seed will play defending champion Tallon Griekspoor after the sixth-seeded Dutchman clawed past Aleksandar Vukic 4-6, 6-3, 7-6(4) to reach the semi-finals.

"I am very happy to be through," Griekspoor said. "It was a very tough match once again. I think Aleksandar played unbelievable grass-court tennis, so it wasn't easy and I am really happy to find my way in the third set... I am enjoying the crowd, the atmosphere and the whole tournament."

Griekspoor has won his past eight matches at the ATP 250, having lifted his second tour-level trophy at the event last. Earlier this season, the No. 23 in the PIF ATP Rankings also reached the semi-finals on home soil in Rotterdam.

Enjoying the grass on home soil 🫡@Griekii from a set down gets the better of Vukic 4-6 6-3 7-6(4) to advance into the semi-finals@LibemaOpen | #LibemaOpen pic.twitter.com/YaKKuapesY

— ATP Tour (@atptour) June 14, 2024

Alex de Minaur, No. 9 in the PIF ATP Rankings, also advanced to the last four following a 7-5, 6-2 victory against Milos Raonic. The former World No. 3 was this week competing in just his fourth tournament of the year.

Competing as the top seed for the first time in his tour-level career, De Minaur won 76 per cent of his second-serve return points, according to Infosys ATP Stats, to march past the hefty-serving Canadian in one hour, 26 minutes. The 25-year-old improved to 3-0 in his Lexus ATP Head2Head series with Raonic and will next face third seed Ugo Humbert or qualifier Gijs Brouwer. The Dutchman led Humbert 6-4, 2-5 when the match was suspended for the day due to rain.

An eight-time tour-level titlist, De Minaur is aiming for his second trophy on grass (2021 Eastbourne). Boasting a 31-11 season record, the Australian is seventh in the PIF ATP Live Race To Turin. He is aiming for his maiden trip to the season-ending Nitto ATP Finals.