Cameron Norrie was beaten in the Barcelona Open quarter-finals as Tomas Martin Etcheverry advanced to the last four.
World No. 30 Etcheverry – placed just one position above Norrie in the ATP rankings – needed two tie-breaks in a hard-fought 7-6(4) 7-6(1) victory.
After the match, Etcheverry said he had planned to play “aggressively” against Norrie.
“I spoke to my coach last night and also my team, that I have to play aggressively to win this match,” the 24-year-old revealed after one of the biggest wins of his career.
“I played [Norrie] last year and it was a tough match, we played three hours [then] like today.
“The tie-break was key, I played really good in that part of the match.”
After coming through a gritty three-set battle with Brandon Nakashima in the last 16, Etcheverry got off to the perfect start to break the British No. 1 in the opening game.
Norrie broke back midway through the first set to draw level as the pair engaged in a tightly fought encounter.
A breaker was required to settle the opener, which Etcheverry edged after gaining two set points to eventually seal it 7-4.
Etcheverry came close to what would have likely been a decisive break in the eighth game of the second set, but Norrie fought him off with a wonderful forehand to hold.
The Argentine regained his lead to move within one game of victory, but Norrie served well to stay in the match.
The duo could not be separated as they entered another tie-break, but it was Etcheverry who was dialled in and breezed through the final test to move into the semi-finals.
Etcheverry will face either world No. 6 Casper Ruud or Italian Matteo Arnaldi for a spot in this year’s final.
Over in Munich at the Bavarian International, Jack Draper was handed a quarter-final defeat by world No. 15 Taylor Fritz, who came from behind to win 4-6 6-3 7-6(1).
Draper started the match in dominant fashion, setting the tone when he broke the American in the opening game and then earning four break point opportunities in the fifth game – but failed to convert them.
Although Draper managed to serve things out and take the opening set, Fritz fought back from 40-0 in the fourth game of the second set to break back, which is where the momentum began to shift.
And Fritz was too strong for Draper in a tight decider, which he eventually won with an impressive tie-break showing.