Marcos Giron Defeats Adrian Mannarino to Reach Dallas Open Final

Marcos Giron is one win away from his first ATP Tour title…

The 30-year-old Colombian American tennis player, unseeded in the tournament, beat No. 4 seed Adrian Mannarino of France, 6-1, 6-3, in the semifinals at the Dallas Open.

Marcos GironGiron took a 4-0 lead in the first set a day after going up 5-0 in a straight-set win over Tiafoe, who was the highest-ranked player in the tournament at No. 14.

The first break of the second set came when Giron made a lunging save with a forehand, then ran down Mannarino’s volley for a backhand crosscourt passing shot and a 5-3 lead.

Giron, who hasn’t lost a service game in four matches in the tournament, had little trouble closing out the match on his serve.

With three victories over seeded opponents, Giron has a chance to surpass his career-best ranking of 49th from 2022.

Giron reached the semifinals in Dallas two years ago, losing a three-setter to Jenson Brooksby while having match points. The final two sets went to tiebreakers.

 

“That stuck with me, and that’s hard,” Giron said. “I have experience. I know what it’s like to lose. I know what it’s like to win. Having a big win yesterday was awesome, and I’m really, really happy to be able to come back today.”

Giron, who beat top-seeded American Frances Tiafoe in the quarterfinals, is making his second trip to a final. He previously appeared in the finals of the 2022 San Diego Open, where he lost to Brandon Nakashima.

He’ll face second-seeded Tommy Paul in Sunday’s final.

Marcos Giron Stuns No. 1 Seed Frances Tiafoe to Reach Dallas Open Semifinals

Marcos Giron has taken down the top seed…

The 30-year-old Colombian American tennis player, ranked 67th in the world, stunned Frances Tiafoe, the No. 1 seed, 6-1, 6-4 on Friday night to reach the semifinals of the Dallas Open.

Marcos GironIt’s the the second time in three years that Giron has advanced to the semifinals at the hardcourt event, which takes places on the SMU campus.

Giron, unseeded in the tournament, stunned Tiafoe early and rolled a win over the highest-ranked player in the field at No. 14.

It’s Giron’s 12th win over a top-20 opponent.

He’s still seeking his first ATP Tour title.

He’d lost to Tiafoe 6-2, 6-2 at Indian Wells almost a year ago.

“I was excited to play him again,” said Giron, who won the first three points on each of Tiafoe’s first two service games on the way to a 5-0 lead. “Margins are thin. I knew that I was playing well.”

Marcos Giron Upsets No. 8 Seed Felix Auger-Aliassime at Japan Open to Reach First ATP 500 Semifinal

Marcos Giron continues his impressive run in Japan…

The 30-year-old Spanish American professional tennis player pulled off an upset against eighth seed Felix Auger-Aliassime, defeating the Canadian tennis player 6-1, 6-4 triumph o advance to the semifinals of the Kinoshita Group Japan Open Tennis Championships.

Marcos GironGiron, currently ranked No. 79 in the world, is a qualifier for the tournament.

Giron rode a lightning-fast start in both sets to an 81-minute win against Auger-Aliassime, who had shown signs of a return to form by reaching his first tour-level quarterfinal since May.

Yet he could not match Giron’s consistency in blustery conditions inside Ariake Coliseum. He led 4-0 in the first set and 3-0 in the second, ultimately converting five of eight break points he earned to charge into his maiden ATP 500 semifinal.

“I’m really happy with today’s performance,” said Giron, who held his nerve after losing four of five games in the middle of the second set. “Felix is obviously a phenomenal player, been Top 10 in the world, won a lot of titles. He’s beaten me down pretty good the last few times we played, so coming in today I knew I had to play well and I had to play aggressive.

“It is windy, but I started off really well. In the second set I went up a break and it cooled off, got even windier, and it got a little tricky. He raised his level, but we are professional tennis players, we do this for a living, and we’ve got to be ready for anything that comes our way.”

Giron has previously upset Norwegian Casper Ruud, the second seed, 6-3, 6-4 on Wednesday to move into the quarterfinals.

He’ll next face fellow American Ben Shelton in the semifinals on Saturday.

Marcos Giron Outlasts Taylor Fritz to Reach ATP Dallas Open Semifinals

Marcos Giron has taken down the favorite…

The 28-year-old Latino tennis player upset No. 1 seed Taylor Fritz — his practice partner — 6-4, 3-6, 7-6(3) on Friday to advance to the semifinals of the ATP Dallas Open.

Marcos GironGiron, the tournament’s seventh seed, battled back after losing the second set and falling behind 4-2 in the third set.

“When I was down a break in the third, we got a change of balls, and I was able to kind of take advantage of that,” Giron said. “Once I was able to sneak out a break, my level improved.”

By defeating the 19th-ranked player in the world, No. 70 Giron scored his fifth career win in 18 chances against top 20 players to reach his second ATP semifinal.

Fritz was playing in his first tournament as the top seed.

“I’ve practiced with Fritz so much,” Giron said. “We’re both based in L.A. and we both train in Carson so we know each other’s game well.”

Giron had the only service break in the first set against Fritz. Giron almost gave back a 5-4 lead by falling behind 30-40 but rallied to hold serve and win the set.

Fritz’s serving dominated the second set, winning three games without a point for Giron.

The third set looked similar as Fritz took a 4-2 lead. Giron broke Fritz to tie the match. Each player had a break and then held serve to send the match into the tiebreak. Then they both reached match point, but neither could win the point.

Giron never trailed in the tiebreak, and he scored the final three points to win when Fritz hit long. Fritz had won the only previous ATP match between the two.

In Saturday’s semifinals, Giron will meet No. 4 Jenson Brooksby, who dispatched Australian Jordan Thompson 6-3, 6-0.