A San Diegan who enjoyed a breakthrough at Wimbledon this summer remains in the running at the 2022 San Diego Open ATP 250 at Barnes Tennis Center.
Fifth-seed Brandon Nakashima, 21, of Carmel Valley – who made it to the Round-of-16 at Wimbledon and the third-round at the US Open – moved on Thursday thanks to a 6-3, 6-4 win over fellow American Denis Kudla.
He had dispatched another local, La Jolla’s Zachary Svajda, in a 7-5, 7-6 (5) win the day before.
Then on Friday, he defeated 75th-ranked Daniel Elahi Galan, 6-3, 4-6, 6-4. It marked his second win over the Colombian in 2022, having also prevailed earlier this summer en route to his career-best showing at Wimbledon.
“He definitely raised his level midway through the second set, both on his serve and off the ground,” Nakashima said. “But I knew if I kept holding my serve, I was going to get some chances on his serve as well. It was just a matter of finding those opportunities and converting them.”
His semifinal opponent will be Christopher O’Connell. The Australian, ranked No. 130, pulled off the upset of the week, saving a pair of match points in the third set to shock second-seeded Jenson Brooksby of Sacramento, 6-4, 4-6, 7-5, to reach his first-ever ATP Tour semifinal.
They play Saturday afternoon at the Barnes center, near Ocean Beach.
In the other semifinal, top seed Daniel Evans of Great Britain will meet former UCLA standout Marcos Giron.
The winner of the 2014 NCAA singles title is in his second ATP semifinal of 2022 after his 7-6 (5), 6-3 win over 83rd-ranked James Duckworth of Australia. The Thousand Oaks native came into the tournament at No. 58 in the Pepperstone ATP Rankings, seeded for the first time in his professional career, at No. 3.
Evans, ranked 25th-ranked, advanced with a 6-1, 6-3 defeat of surprise quarterfinalist Constant Lestienne of France. Giron twice lost to the 32-year-old last year, including a 6-4, 7-6 (3), 2-6, 6-2 decision in the second round of the US Open.
Australians Jason Kubler and Luke Saville will take on Marcelo Demoliner and Marcelo Melo of Brazil in the first doubles semifinal at 11:30 a.m. Saturday.
In the other, American Bradley Klahn and Fernando Verdasco of Spain will face the second-seeded American team of Nathaniel Lammons and Jackson Withrow.
Updated 2:40 a.m. Sept. 24, 2022