Brayden Schnur advances to New York Open semifinals

Brayden Schnur had never won an ATP level main draw match until this week. Turning pro in 2016 after three seasons of tennis at North Carolina University, he has toiled in the Challenger and Futures ranks, looking for a stepping stone.
Looks like he’s put his foot on one on Long Island.
Schnur improbably advanced to the semifinals of the New York Open on Friday with a 6-7 (7), 7-6 (5), 7-5 win over Paolo Lorenzi at NYCB Live’s Nassau Coliseum.
Schnur’s tournament began on Sunday, though a lot had to happen for him to get the chance. He was the last player on the alternate list for the qualify rounds and when others passed, Schnur was there to jump in. The 23-year-old Canadian won his two qualifying matches for a spot in the main draw.
After defeating Jack Lin in the first round, he went to the max against American Steve Johnson, beating him in a third-set tiebreak. It was another grind against Lorenzi on Friday, but it’s a grind that he’s been looking for. He made things difficult on Friday by losing the first set after holding four set points in the tiebreak, but his determination never wavered.
"Mental strength, that really pushed me through,” Schnur said. “This is a big moment for me. It’s a big moment for him, but gosh, he’s probably been there so many times. This is my first time being in the quarters of an ATP. That first set I tightened up a little bit, felt a bit nervous, didn’t execute the shots I wanted, didn’t go after it. Second and third sets I just stayed tough.”
Schnur will play Sam Querrey on Saturday in the semifinals. Querrey defeated Jason Jung, 6-3, 3-6, 6-3. Querrey, who practices with Jung in Los Angeles, last played and defeated Jung in the 16s semifinals of the 2004 Easter Bowl in Palm Springs. 

Schnur felt that his play at the end of last year showed improvement and his offseason training made him feel confident enough to enter Australian Open qualifying. Then he lost in the first round.
He returned to the states and played reasonably well in three Challenger events, but the Australia experience left him deeply disappointed. “I’m expecting big things in Australia and I go out in the first round,” he said. “Talking to my buddies, they said you’re breakthrough is going to come. Just going to happen when you least expect it. Sure enough, I show up here this week, I’m pretty tired, I’m coming off the flu and now I’m in the semifinals of an ATP.”

Opelka in semifinal. Reilly Opelka advanced to his second ever ATP semifinal with a 6-3, 6-4 win over Guillermo Garcia-Lopez. The 6-11 Opelka got down to Garcia-Lopez’s backhand slices and got on top of his service game, only having to fend off one break point while serving 14 aces and a bunch of service winners.