After winning the clay-court event in Hamburg, Pablo Carreno Busta has stayed hot in Tokyo. In the quarterfinals, he knocked out world No. 2 Daniil Medvedev, 6-2, 7-6 (5), erasing a break deficit in the second set.
Meanwhile, Karen Khachanov did what Medvedev couldn’t: make it to the medal round. The Russian edged Ugo Humbert, 7-6 (4), 4-6, 6-3, in two hours and 34 minutes to confirm a semifinal clash with Carreno Busta.
Talk about tears of joy. Belinda Bencic advanced to both the women’s singles and doubles finals, beginning with a three-set win over Elena Rybakina before joining forces with Viktorija Golubic to defeat Laura Pigossi and Luisa Stefani.
Novak Djokovic also remained in contention for a pair of gold medals. After crushing Kei Nishikori in men’s singles, the 20-time major champ partnered Nina Stojanovic to a 6-1, 6-2 victory over Germans Laura Siegemund and Kevin Krawietz to reach his second semifinal of the day.
Alexander Zverev will look to halt Djokovic’s bid for a Golden Slam in the final four. The German eased past Jeremy Chardy, 6-4, 6-1, and now hopes to snap a four-match losing streak against the world No. 1.