Wildcard Jeremy Beale has continued his stunning run in Canberra, reaching the semifinal at the ACT Clay Court International #2 after upsetting American fifth seed Evan King 4-6 6-3 6-3 on Friday.
“I just wanted to play good tennis,” Beale, 22, said. “And I’ve been doing that.”
The left-hander – who hit with Roger Federer ahead of the Swiss man’s quarterfinal appearance against lefty Mischa Zverev at the Australian Open this year – also swept past Omar Jasika earlier in the week, knocking out the No.3 seed 7-5 6-4.
“He’s had a great season and he’s had great experience with the top players,” Beale said of Jasika. “It was a really good win.”
Of his recent success, Beale, the world No.817, said he had previously been struggling to stay in matches mentally. “We’ve been working on my state of mind in the last couple of months,” he said. “So I guess it’s paying off.”
To book his place in the final, Beale will need to find a way past second seed Marc Polmans, who is gunning for back-to-back titles in Canberra after tasting success last week.
Polmans was tested on Friday, but eventually defeated Japan’s Sora Fukuda 6-1 6-7(2) 6-2.
Queensland’s No.8 seed, Maverick Banes, will compete in his second consecutive semifinal after he reversed last week’s result against fourth seed Blake Mott, competing the win in straight sets, 6-4 6-4.
He faces Spanish top seed Jordi Samper-Montana, a 6-3 6-4 victor over another Queenslander, Gavin Van Peperzeel.
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