Humbert and Diallo grab ticket for semi-finals

The first men’s semi-finalists have been announced. Second seed Ugo Humbert faces Gabriel Diallo on Saturday afternoon in a French-Canadian private party.

The left-handed Humbert, also a semi-finalist on the Brabant grass last year, flew out of the starting blocks against seventh-seeded Nuno Borges from Portugal and did not let up: 6-1 6-4.

In Diallo, Humbert, who excels on grass, meets another tournament debutant. The 23-year-old Canadian beat third-seeded Karen Khachanov in two hard-fought sets: 7-6(6) 6-4. The victory means he will make his top-50 debut after Libéma Open.

Diallo managed to hit 19 aces in two sets to finally win once against the former top10 player after three defeats against Khachanov.