Kyrgios into semis; Marino bounced in Washington QFs

WASHINGTON (AP) — Wimbledon runner-up Nick Kyrgios needed 14 minutes to complete his rain-delayed Citi Open match against Reilly Opelka, efficiently closing out a 7-6 (1), 6-2 victory on Friday.

Saving energy was key for Kyrgios and others playing in hot, humid conditions at the hard-court U.S. Open tuneup. Kyrgios, the 2019 champion in Washington, was scheduled to return to the court late Friday night for a quarterfinal match against Frances Tiafoe, who grew up just outside the nation's capital in Maryland.

Play was suspended again Friday afternoon because of lightning, which delayed the start of the evening matches.

Top-seeded Andrey Rublev got through two matches, rallying in a second-set tiebreak to beat Maxime Cressy 6-4, 7-6 (8) in the afternoon and then dispatching American wild card J.J. Wolf 6-2, 6-3 in the evening to reach the semifinals.

The Russian is seeking his fourth ATP title this year, which would draw him even with Rafael Nadal and Carlos Alcaraz for the most in 2022.

Trailing 5-3 in the second-set tiebreak against Cressy, Rublev used his reflexes to lob back an overhead smash by Cressy, who missed wide.

“In my head, the second set was done and I’ll just do my best to finish the second and I’ll fight for the third,” Rublev said.

On the women's side, fourth-seeded veteran Victoria Azarenka struggled in her second match of the day, falling 6-1, 6-3 to 95th-ranked Xiyu Wang. Azarenka endured an 80-minute first set to beat Tereza Martincova 7-6 (7), 6-2 earlier Friday.

World No. 88 Daria Saville of Australia also advanced to the semifinals, defeating Rebecca Marino 6-1, 7-5. Sixth-seeded Kaia Kanepi got past Anna Kalinskaya 6-7 (4), 6-4, 6-3 in a match that lasted 2 hours, 33 minutes.

U.S. Open champion