ATP Auckland: Richard Gasquet will face Constant Lestienne in the semi-finals, Quentin Halys falls on a bone

There will be a 100% French clash between Richard Gasquet and Constant Lestienne for a place in the final in Auckland. Gasquet emerged victorious from his duel against David Goffin on Thursday, in the quarter-finals. While the rain had interrupted the match at 2-1 in his favor in the third set, the Bitterois had shown himself to be imperial in the recovery by aligning four consecutive games to overcome the Belgian (1-6, 6-1, 6-1). Constant Lestienne struggled to join his compatriot. But he was able to reverse a compromised situation to win against the Serb Laslo Djere (2-6, 7-6, 7-5).

The step towards the last four was however too high for Quentin Halys. The Frenchman, ranked 64th at the ATP, nevertheless passed 13 aces over the whole match to Jenson Brooksby. But the American was more effective on the two tie-breaks which decided the outcome of the meeting to win (7-6, 7-6). The 48th player in the world will challenge Cameron Norrie in the semi-finals. For his part, Halys can already turn to the preparation of his first round of the Australian Open. It will be tough, against the Greek Stefanos Tsitsipas.

Norrie, seeded N.2, for his part continued a perfect start to the year. The Briton signed his fifth victory in as many matches in 2023, even though it took him three sets to defeat the American Marcos Giron (6-1, 6-7, 6-2). Perfectionist, the 12th player in the world also deplored his management of the second set. “Complicated myself, played a bad game to start the second sethe admitted. Just a lack of focus. I was able to come back and then he played a better tie-break than me, he was more aggressive and he executed better, he deserved it.”