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Ruud, a Norwegian who is seeded sixth, upset second-seeded
Alexander Zverev of Germany 6-3, 1-6, 6-3 in the quarterfinals.
His semifinal foe will be Cerundolo, an Argentinian who is
ranked 103rd in the world.
Cerundolo advanced when ninth-seeded Jan Sinner of Italy was
forced to retire from his match because of foot blisters while
trailing 4-1 in the opening set.
Ruud has never been to the final of an ATP Masters 1000 event
while Cerundolo is making his debut an a tournament of that
magnitude, the next level below the Grand Slam events.
Ruud's only three previous ATP Masters 1000 semifinal
appearances all came on clay: in 2020 at Rome and last year in
both Monte Carlo and Madrid.
Zverev had won both previous matchups with Ruud, but he couldn't
complete the comeback on Wednesday. Ruud broke serve for a 2-0
lead in the final set, and neither player faced a break point
the rest of the way.
"It was great to get that break early on (in the third set) and
I was able to keep it all the way out," Ruud said. "I was
serving well. I can thank my serving for the win today."
Cerundolo, thanks to his abbreviated victory, becomes the
lowest-ranked player ever to reach the Miami Open semifinals. No
player making his ATP Masters 1000 debut had made a semifinal
appearance since Poland's Jerzy Janowicz did so 10 years ago in
Paris.
Cerundolo said of Sinner's injury, "I didn't know anything. When
I was serving at 3-1, 30-0, I saw him bending down. It was
really strange. I didn't see anything wrong and I hope he is OK,
he is a great player.
"It means a lot (to advance). It is everything I have dreamed
of."
The last two quarterfinals will be played Thursday. Top-seeded
Daniil Medvedev of Russia will oppose seeded Hubert Hurkacz of
Poland, the reigning tournament champion, and 14th-seeded Carlos
Alcaraz of Spain will face Serbia's Miomir Kecmanovic.
--Field Level Media
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