Wawrinka beats Rublev; Medvedev, Norrie, Fritz also reach Diriyah Tennis Cup semis

Three-time Grand Slam champion Stan Wawrinka became the first player through to the semi-finals of the Diriyah Tennis Cup in Saudi Arabia with a three-set win over Russia’s Andrey Rublev.

The Swiss will next meet another Russian – Daniil Medvedev – on Friday for a place in the final.

Wawrinka, a former world No 3 but currently ranked No 149 in the world, rebounded from the loss of the first set to beat world No 8 Rublev 6-7 (3-7), 6-2, 10-6 with the third set bring played as a super tiebreak.

Earlier in the day, the Swiss had defeated Matteo Berrettini 5-10, 10-4, 10-6 (the pre quarter-final matches were played as best of three super tiebreaks only).

Medvedev, Norrie, Fritz join Wawrinka in Diriyah Tennis Cup semis

In the second quarter-final of the Diriyah Tennis Cup on Thursday, Medvedev got off to a fast start to win the first set 6-0, and then rebounded from a 3-1 deficit in the second to complete the win 6-0, 6-4.

This was Zverev’s first tournament since his horrific ankle injury during the French Open semi-finals which later required surgery.

Britain’s Cameron Norrie also reached the last four with a 6-4, 6-4 win over top seed Stefanos Tsitsipas. Norrie had defeated Australia’s Nick Kyrgios earlier in the day.

The left-hander will meet American Taylor Fritz in the semi-finals after the American defeated Hubert Hurkacz 7-6, 7-5 in the final quarter-final of the day.

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