France's top tennis player Arthur Fils advanced to a semi-final showdown with world number one Jannik Sinner at the Madrid Masters, following a straight sets victory over Jiri Lehecka.
Fils, 21, outwitted the Czech 6–3, 6–4 on Wednesday night to set up his first match against Sinner since February 2023.
After securing the first three games of the match against Lehecka, Fils maintained his advantage to pocket the opening set after 35 minutes.
In the second set, he claimed Lehecka's serve to lead 4-3 and wrapped up the encounter on his first match point after 74 minutes.
It was revenge for Lehecka's win over Fils in the semi-final at the Miami Masters in March.
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“Jiri beat me very easily in Miami," said Fils. "I am very happy to be in the semis here in Madrid because over the last two years, I had never won a match or a set here, so to be in the semis feels very good."
Fils, the first French player to reach the last four at the Madrid Masters since Gilles Simon in 2008, has reached semi-finals this year in Doha, Miami and at the Barcelona Open, where he went on to beat Andrey Rublev in the final to claim the crown.
"When the conditions are slow and heavier, I feel good," Fils added. "I know with my fitness, I can hold for three or four hours in these conditions."
On Friday, Fils will face Sinner who dispatched the 19-year-old Spaniard Rafael Jodar. 6–2, 7–6.
“At the start of the match, he may have been a bit tense, which is normal," said Sinner. "But afterwards, it turned into a good match. I have a bit more experience than him in crucial moments. He pushed me to the limit."
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Sinner is attempting to become the first man to win the first four Masters 1000 tournaments of the season.
In March, on the hard courts in the United States, the 24-year-old Italian won in Indian Wells and Miami.
He then beat Carlos Alcaraz to take the Monte Carlo Masters and emulate the 2015 feats of Novak Djokovic at the tournaments which are the most coveted on the ATP circuit after the four Grand Slam events in Melbourne, Paris, London and New York.
In the women's event, Marta Kostyuk moved into the last four on Wednesday night following a 7-6, 6-0 win over the 13th seed Linda Noskova.
Kostyuk will play Anastasia Potapova who reached the semi-final after a three-set victory over the former world number one Karolina Pliskova.
