Aleksandar Vukic gave Darwin Blanch no chance of an upset at the ATP Masters 1000 in Cincinnati. The Australian won the qualifying semifinal 6:3, 7:6 to punch his ticket to the qualifying final of the most prestigious North American hard-court event ahead of the US Open.
A statement opening set
Vukic controlled proceedings on the Champions' Court from the very first game. Seeded 12th in qualifying, he played with the composure and structure needed to put Blanch under early pressure. The opening set went comfortably to the Australian 6:3 — a commanding display that underlined just how well Vukic handles the hard-court conditions in the humid Cincinnati summer. Blanch, who had entered qualifying on a wildcard, found no answer to his opponent's controlled baseline tennis throughout the set.
Blanch fights back — Vukic holds his nerve
The 18-year-old American from Boca Raton, Florida, showed his fighting spirit in the second set. Blanch, a left-hander with an imposing 1.93-metre frame, raised his level noticeably and forced Vukic into a tightly contested second set. A tiebreak was needed to settle it — and there Vukic proved his nerve, winning it 7:4 to take the set 7:6. It was the first meeting between the two players on the ATP Tour, and Vukic left little doubt as to who was playing the better tennis.
Vukic's impressive career trajectory
For Vukic — who once studied finance at the University of Illinois, where he earned three-time All-American honours before turning professional — reaching the qualifying final is another step forward on his journey towards the top of the game. The son of Serbian-Montenegrin immigrants who emigrated to Australia in the 1990s, he has steadily built his rise through the ranks with sheer perseverance.
Blanch, who had made the most of a wildcard at the Miami Open earlier this season to reach the second round, fell at the qualifying semifinal stage this time around. The young American, who trains under coaches Juan Ignacio Chela and Mariano Monachesi, nonetheless showed he is capable of causing problems on hard courts — even if it was not enough to get past Vukic and into the final.
