The other semi-final from the Țiriac Open was also decided » Its protagonists played two matches on Friday

Friday at the Țiriac Open was like a glossy magazine, one where you can find everything. With four matches left to play in the second round, the start was unusually early, at 10:00 a.m., when Titouan Droguet (24 years, 122 ATP) and Sebastian Baez (25 years, 50 ATP), the 5th favorite, entered the courts on Central, respectively Daniel Merida and Adrian Mannarino (37 years, 43 ATP), the 2nd favorite.

Along with them came some clouds, which then brought rain, both games being interrupted. But, after the restart, the Frenchman managed to close the match in his favor, passing the Argentine 6-4, 6-4, and the Spaniard, coming from the qualifiers, who had played two more matches in one day, managed to eliminate the Frenchman 4-6, 6-2, 6-2. The winners were to play their second match in the quarterfinals also on Friday.

The last two matches left to play in the second round were Fabian Marozsan, third seed, against Stefano Sakellaridis (21 years, 225 ATP), interrupted on Thursday at the score of 1-1, 40-40, and Daniel Altmaier (27 years, 52 ATP), seed 6, against Dino Prizmic (20 years, 118 ATP).

The Hungarian ended the match with the Greek qualifier 7-6 (3), 7-5 in one hour and forty-seven minutes after a hard-fought battle.

The other game was one with many score reversals, which the German won in three hours and 18 minutes, 3-6, 6-7 (1), 7-6 (8). The last two outstanding matches were played in the sun, with a blue spring sky as the backdrop.

Daniel Merida, the tour of life in Bucharest

When it was already evening, on the Central Court at the “Simona Halep” National Tennis Center, Titouan Droguet and Daniel Merida showed up for the third quarter-final of the day, already having a contested match on their feet.

The most affected was the Frenchman, who lasted another two hours and six minutes on the court, abandoning at the score of 4-6, 7-6 (7), 3-1. The story of the 21-year-old Spaniard, who saved three match points in the quarter-final match, the first of his career, continues in Bucharest, where he will play his first semi-final in an ATP tournament on Saturday.

He had no victory on the ATP circuit until the Țiriac Open. “A was incredible, an extremely physical match, the end of the second set was crazy, I managed to save three match points. I think that's where the fate of the party changed. I am extremely happy because I managed to win and because I fought until the last point”, he said on the field, to the applause of the spectators.

Fabian Marozsan, the highest ranked player left in the race

The day ended at 22:05 after Fabian Marozsan saved the first match point, defeating Daniel Altmaier in one hour and fifty-nine minutes, 6-2, 7-6 (5).

On Saturday, with a much better forecast, in the first semi-final the Argentinian Mariano Navone (25 years old, 60th ATP place) and the Dutchman Botic van de Zandschulp (30 years old, 62nd ATP place) will meet.

Romania was left without representatives at the Țiriac Open after Victor Cornea, who paired with the Portuguese Nuno Borges, lost in the quarterfinals on Friday. They were defeated by the pair of Yuki Bhambri, Michael Venus (India, New Zealand, 3) 6-2, 2-6, 10-4.

The schedule for Saturday, April 5, at the Țiriac Open

• Central Ground

• Doubles, semi-finals

• Time 11:00 Sadio Dumbia, Fabien Reboul (France, France, 1) – Yuki Bhambri, Michael Venus (India, New Zealand, 3)

• Simple, semi-finals

• Not before 1pm Mariano Navone (Argentina, 7) – Botic van de Zandschulp (Netherlands, 8)

• Not before 3:00 p.m Fabian Marozsan (Hungary, 3) – Daniel Merida (Spain, q)

• Land 1

• Doubles, semi-finals

• 12:30 p.m Adam Pavlasek, Patrik Rikl (Czech Republic, Czech Republic) – Siriam Balaji, Neil Oberleitner (India, Austria)