After three action-packed matches on Center Court, the stage is set for the finals of the 2023 Infosys Hall of Fame Open.
A full house in Newport witnessed a battle of the bulldogs in the final matchup of the day. Alex Michelsen continues his Cinderella run with a stunning victory over John Isner 7-6(6) 6-4.
“I kept my head in the serve game, I knew he was going to serve 2-3 aces a game every set, so I just focused on my serve and got to a breaker… his serve is the best,” said Michelsen. “I think I’m going to need a month to process everything. It doesn’t feel like I’m in a final right now, but that’s probably a good thing.”
Michelsen advances to his first career ATP Tour final, just one month after making his tour-level main draw debut.
Standoffs between fellow countrymen continued as Adrian Mannarino defeated Ugo Humbert, 6-4, 6-3. Mannarino took charge early, capturing 67% of his service points in the match.
“I was feeling really well on the court today, especially having won a couple matches before, now it gave me a lot of confidence. When the big moments arrived in the match, I was pretty confident in my game and it worked well for me. My serve was really key for me today and my returns as well. It was one of those days where everything was rolling my way,” said Mannarino. “Ugo [Humbert] is a better player than me, every time we play each other he is beating me…he was supposed to win, but anything can happen on Newport grass.”
Mannarino improves to 13-9 in ATP Tour semifinals. After ten appearances in Newport, the Frenchman will compete in his first Infosys Hall of Fame Open Final in hopes to capture his third career tour-level championship.
Mannarino takes on Michelsen tomorrow …. on Center Court for their chance at the Van Alen Cup.
In the doubles draw, No. 1 seed Nathaniel Lammons and Jackson Withrow moved on to the Infosys Hall of Fame Open Final. The Americans won a close match, 6-7, 7-6, 11-9, over Yuki Bhambri and Saketh Myneni. The two teams traded leads four times in the tiebreak. Lammons and Withrow will face off against Max Purcell and William Blumberg in the doubles championship tomorrow.
The duo looks to capture their third tour-level doubles title, and first at Newport.
Enshrinement Weekend festivities continued today with the Brooks Brothers Brunch where the Class of 2023 received their official Brooks Brothers’ blazers. Vergeer and Rick Draney – two wheelchair tennis icons – will be formally inducted into the International Tennis Hall of Fame this evening.
The finals of the 2023 Infosys Hall of Fame Open begin tomorrow, July 23ndat Noon.Tickets are still available for advance purchase on Tixr.
Tune into live action and content across the Infosys Hall of Fame Open social channels on Facebook and Instagram, and live on the Tennis One app.
