Terence Atmane’s dream continues in Cincinnati.
Atmane won his second straight win with No. 9 Holger Rune Thursday night, booking a spot in his first Pro Masters semifinal.
“I don’t think there is anything to describe how I feel right now,” said Atman. “It’s so crazy to be honest. In the semifinals of the 1000 Masters, it was even a top 100 or even [higher] Win tonight.
“It’s also a lot of money for me, so it’s going to be very helpful to my career, so it means a lot to me. I’m very excited about it.”
Since Alexandr Dolgopolov in 2015, France’s South Claw has dominated from beginning to end, becoming the first qualifier to enter the Cincinnati Final Four with a 6-2, 6-3 victory.
Atmane beat Nishioka Yoshihito Nishioka, Flavio Cobolli, Joao Fonseca, Taylor Fritz and Rune in his best match ever, ranks No. 69 in the live rankings after the start of the week 136 of 136.
He won 28 of 33 first points and fought against eight matches to convert his fifth breakout point (with a 3-1 score) to the first. This is all he needs to swing the room.
Atmane was broken in Game 1 of the second set but beaten 2-2, then he advanced 5-3 and then played in one hour and 13 minutes.
Atmane is now the eighth player to enter the 1,000 semi-finals Masters.
He will face world No. 1 Jannik Sinner in the semifinals.
