Nicolas Jarry clearly is not intimidated by facing highly ranked Albert Ramos-Vinolas.
On Friday, Jarry stunned Ramos-Vinolas for the second time in as many weeks. The unseeded qualifier from Chile knocked off the Brasil Open's No. 1 seed by a score of 6-7 (6), 6-4, 7-6 (3) to advance to the semifinals in Sao Paulo.
Jarry also beat Ramos-Vinolas last week in Rio de Janeiro.
"I'm happy with this great result, I'm really happy for that victory," Jarry said of his Friday win. "I had to stay very focused throughout the match. I'm happy with the way things have come out. Anyone could have won. ... I had to stay aggressive, attacking the ball."
Jarry, 22, will face qualifier Horacio Zeballos of Argentina in the semifinals. Zeballos advanced by holding off Rogerio Dutra Silva of Brazil 6-7 (3), 6-2, 6-4.
In the other semifinal match, second-seeded Fabio Fognini of Italy will square off against third-seeded Pablo Cuevas of Uruguay, the three-time defending Sao Paulo champion. The pair have met five times in their career, with Fognini holding a slight 3-2 edge. Cuevas cruised to a 6-1, 6-4 win last year in Indian Wells, Calif., in their most recent meeting.
Fognini advanced Friday by defeating Guillermo Garcia-Lopez of Spain 6-4, 6-2. Cuevas required longer to dispatch of fifth-seeded Leonardo Meyer of Argentina by a margin of 6-2, 6-7 (13), 7-6 (5).
"It was a very tough, long match," Cuevas said. "I had a lot of chances in that second set (in which Cuevas had four match points). Then in the third, my return wasn't so good, plus Leo was serving so well.
"The (15-match win streak at Sao Paulo) feels incredible. I felt the support from the Brazilian fans and today a lot of Uruguayans showed up, even the ex-captain of the Uruguayan soccer team (and Sao Paulo FC legend Diego Lugano) showed up. I'm happy to once again be in the semifinals."
Cuevas is striving for his seventh career title on the ATP Tour and his first championship of 2018. Fognini has five career titles but none this year.
"It's another weekend and another event in which I'm playing this deep into an event, so that's a good thing," Fognini said. "Two more matches to go. Let's see what happens tomorrow and hopefully I come out the winner."
Zeballos has one career title. Jarry is seeking his first championship.
--Field Level Media