Argentina Open: Delbonis beats Fognini to enter semis; Ruud, Sonego also advance

Buenos Aires [Argentina], February 12 : Federico Delbonis dished out a dominating performance at the ongoing Argentina Open on Friday, crafting an impressive 6-4, 6-4 win over fourth seed Fabio Fognini to reach the semi-finals in Buenos Aires.
Delbonis broke World No. 40 Fognini in the opening games of both sets to ensure the Italian could never find a foothold in the match, staying solid on serve to secure victory in one hour, 36 minutes.
Delbonis, seeking his third ATP Tour title after winning in Sao Paulo in 2014 and Marrakech in 2016, will next face top seed Casper Ruud in the semi-finals.
The Norwegian overcame the windy conditions and Argentine Federico Coria 6-3, 6-4 in one hour and 33 minutes to book his place in his first tour-level semi-final of the season.
In the draw's bottom half, third seed Lorenzo Sonego booked his semi-final spot with a 6-4, 7-6(4) win over Spain's Fernando Verdasco. The 26-year-old Italian, who is one spot off his career-high ATP Ranking at World No. 22, is seeking a second ATP Tour clay-court title after his triumph in Cagliari last season.
After closing out the two-hour, four-minute victory, Sonego awaits the winner of the day's last quarter-final -- a rematch of last year's all-Argentine final between second seed Diego Schwartzman against Francisco Cerundolo. That matchup was suspended late Friday night due to rain, with Schwartzman serving at 3-6, 6-2, 1-1, and will resume Saturday at 1 pm local time.