After 17 other Australians fell before him, Alex Bolt has kept hopes of a home-country Launceston International title alive with a 7-6 6-3 win over Italian Liam Caruana.
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Battling through an even first set before taking the tiebreak in demanding 7-0 fashion and pulling away even more in the second, the 27-year-old gave credit to his opponent who played well above his world ranking of 502.
"I played Liam last week [in Burnie] in a tough battle," he said.
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"I knew it was going to be another tough one, he's got weapons all over the court and when he's on, he's on, so I felt like I needed to weather the storm.
"I got a good start in that tiebreak in the first set and then I ran away with it, trying to keep that momentum going.
"I think I freed up a little bit more [in the second set]. I had that set under my belt to fall back on so I felt like I was hitting a little freer on my ground strokes and I could hit through the court a bit more."
Bolt, coached by former Australian player Peter Luczak, faces German Daniel Altmaier in tomorrow's semi-final, who he labelled a "great competitor" having never played him before.
Altmaier overcame frustrations to push past Croatian ATP Cup representative Borna Gojo 7-5 6-4.
Losing his serve early in the first set, the 21-year-old German took his anger out on his Yonex racquet, smashing it into several pieces and earning an abuse warning in the process.
He, unlike his racquet, quickly and efficiently bounced back though, claiming the first and ultimately the match in strong fashion.
Over on centre court, a loud cry of "come on" was heard over Launceston Regional Tennis Centre as Egyptian ninth seed Mohamed Safwat progressed to the semi-final with a win over Liam Broady.
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Continuing on his solid January form which saw him qualify for his first Australian Open, Safwat overcame the British 13th seed 7-6 6-3 and will face the man who ended Tasmanian Harry Bourchier's run for the title on Thursday, Kimmer Coppejans.
The diminutive Belgian led Italian fourth seed Lorenzo Giustino 5-3 in the first set, serving for it in the following game but was unable to take it on the first attempt - instead winning the marathon tiebreak 12-10.
He then gained an early lead yet again in the second before letting that slip and giving the bandana-wielding Italian a chance to level it up at a set apiece.
The sixth seed proved to be too strong for the man ranked only four spots his superior, taking the third set 6-4 to claim a 7-6 5-7 6-4 victory and improve on his second-round performance in Launceston from 2018.
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Josh Partridge
As a sports-mad fan who loves to remain challenged, sports journalism always seemed the path for me and it's allowed me to do things I never thought possible. A keen racquet sports player, I'm experienced in that field, allowing me to do my job at a strong standard.
As a sports-mad fan who loves to remain challenged, sports journalism always seemed the path for me and it's allowed me to do things I never thought possible. A keen racquet sports player, I'm experienced in that field, allowing me to do my job at a strong standard.
