Valentin Vacherot Beats Holger Rune to Reach Basel Semis

Valentin Vacherot served his way past Holger Rune again on Friday, winning 6-3, 3-6, 6-3 to reach the Basel semis at the Swiss Indoors. The Monaco player fired 20 aces to Rune's five and saved nine of the 10 break points he faced in a match that ran 2 hours and 2 minutes.

It is a big week getting bigger. Vacherot already knocked out Rafael Jodar earlier in the tournament, and this puts him in the fourth ATP Tour semifinal of his career. It is also the second time he has beaten Rune, after doing it in Shanghai last season.

The Serve Saved Him Early

Rune came out sharp and probably should have been up a break right away. Flashscore had him earning six break points in the opening game alone, and he had three more chances at 0-40 in Vacherot's next service game. Vacherot erased all of them with big first serves, then broke Rune to take control of the set.

Rune got treatment on his thigh for about three minutes when he trailed 2-5, and Vacherot closed out the opener. The Dane answered by breaking early in the second set and rode that to level the match. In the third, Vacherot found another break, raised his level on serve and never let Rune back in.

The numbers that matter:

• 20 aces for Vacherot, 5 for Rune

• 9 of 10 break points saved by Vacherot

• 76% of first serve points won by Vacherot (51 of 67)

Rune Still Finding His Way Back

This is not a bad week for Rune, either. The 23-year-old returned to the tour only about a month and a half ago after a long Achilles tendon injury, and Basel gave him his first two wins since coming back, over Hubert Hurkacz and Quentin Halys. Both of those guys are huge servers too, and Friday was one big serve too many.

Who Is Next in Basel

Vacherot will face either Taylor Fritz or Arthur Fils in Saturday's semifinal. Both are power players, and Fils has extra on the line since he sits in the hunt for one of the last spots at the ATP Finals in Turin.

My Smacktok lean for Saturday: Vacherot to keep the ace count high again. Twenty aces and nine of 10 break points saved on an indoor court is not a fluke, and that serve gives him a real shot in the semifinal.