The third match of Day 5 followed the trend of the first two matches in going the distance. Thiago Agustin Tirante defeated Roberto Carballes Baena 6-3 2-6 7-5 to book a spot in his first ever semi-finals. 

The Argentine Tirante, looked to back up his biggest career win against tournament top seed Andrey Rublev and improve his ranking further to become world number No.101 on the PIF ATP Live Ranking. He won the first set convincingly 6-3. 

Roberto Carballes Barna fought back hard in the second to win it 6-2 and force the match into a decider. 

The third set proved to be a tight one. Baena put early pressure on Tirante’s serve to put himself in a commanding position. But Tirante did not relent. Baena got broken in the crucial 11th game to give Tirante the opportunity to serve for the match. The Argentine hit an ace at match point to reach the first ever semi-final of his career. 

Thiago will now face the winner of Friday’s last match, Nuno Borges.

Borges delivered a strong performance against qualifier Timofey Skatov on Friday evening. Four aces and a high percentage of points won on his first serve paved the way for the 27-year-old Portuguese.

Skatov had only two break opportunities in the match and managed to convert just one, while Borges delivered a total of 25 winners. After a 6-4, 6-3 victory, it was clear that Borges would face Tirante in Saturday’s second semifinal.