Stefanos Tsitsipas and Nikoloz Basilashvili moved into the semifinals of the Almaty ATP 250 on Friday, each winning in straight sets to set up a meeting that now anchors the rest of the event. Tsitsipas beat James Duckworth 6-3, 6-4, while Basilashvili followed with a 6-3, 6-1 win over Adrian Mannarino.
The Almaty Open is suddenly carrying real weight for both men because the wins came at a point in the season when every result changes the ranking picture. Tsitsipas, ranked No. 39, is still chasing a seeding for the Australian Open, and Basilashvili’s rise to No. 109 in the live rankings moves him closer to a return to the top 100 and a place in the Australian Open main draw.
For Tsitsipas, the scoreline was tidy enough, but the path to it was not simple. Duckworth, ranked No. 73, had come through the previous round with a surprise win over No. 2 seed Luciano Darderi, so Tsitsipas was facing a player who had already upset the bracket once. Instead, Tsitsipas handled the matchup in straight sets and said afterward that he felt a lot of peace in his life, adding that the clarity in his mind has helped him play with more freedom and focus.
Basilashvili’s result carried a different kind of momentum. He beat Mannarino for the first time since 2017, and the win also offered a small measure of revenge after Mannarino had beaten Aleksandar Vukic and No. 4 seed Andrey Rublev in three-set matches on the way to the quarterfinals. Basilashvili, who began the week ranked No. 128, said he managed the tension in his body well, did not get tight or nervous and served well, a simple explanation that matched the authority of the score.
That is what makes the semifinal pairing more than a routine next round. Tsitsipas arrives with the cleaner ranking stakes, Basilashvili with the sharper climb, and both have already shown in Almaty that they can win without needing a long match to do it. The question now is which one can keep that level when the tournament tightens again in the semifinals.
