Taro Daniel became the first Japanese player to make the semifinals at the ASB Classic in the modern era on Thursday, beating French qualifier Alexandre Muller 6-4 6-7 6-3.
The 30-year-old US-based Japanese player led 4-0 in the second set before Muller fought back to level and eventually win in the tiebreak. However, Daniel re-engaged after a break to re-take control to win the final set 6-3.
The world no. 74, who won a title in Istanbul in 2018, was delighted with his efforts and the splendid weather following the big wet of the 2023 event.
“I thought it was a great match and played at a high level. It was a little bit of a pity I couldn’t close it off in the second but he raised his level and I pulled back a bit and in that moment I got a little nervous. That also happens.
“It’s really nice to be the first Japanese player to make the semifinals. Last year I had a really hard time. The weather was horrible and we had to play indoors and was one of the worst weeks in my career. So now to have one of the best – that contrast is so nice to have.”
Daniel achieved a career-high singles ranking of world No. 64 on 27 August 2018 and has eight ATP Challenger Tour singles titles to go along with his ATP Tour win in Istanbul. He is currently the No. 2-ranked Japanese player behind Kei Nishikori, who comes in at 45 in the world.
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