Tennis Winston-Salem Open: Adrian Mannarino beats Botic van de Zandschulp to sail into the final

Adrian Mannarino began the opening set aggressively and entirely dominated No. 2 seed Botic van de Zandschulp to clinch the first set with a bagel.

Botic van de Zandschulp tried to bounce back in the second set, but Adrian Mannarino took advantage of four unforced errors in the ninth game of the second set to secure a 6-0, 6-4 victory after one hour and 15 minutes of play.

Adrian Mannarino served two aces, won 81% of the points on the first serve and broke the serve of his Dutch opponent four times from eight opportunities.

In contrast, Botic van de Zandschulp served three aces, won 67% of the points on the first serve and committed five double faults.

After the victory, Adrian Mannarino said, "I'm old! My body is not responding as well as when I was 20, but obviously, I'm still up and running well. I think Botic didn't start the match so well, but then, in the second set, it was really tight."

The 34-year-old Frenchman has now advanced to the final for the tenth time in his career, having played his last championship match at the Nur-Sultan Open two years ago. 

Adrian Mannarino scored 9-1 in the finals, with his only title victory coming at 's-Hertogenbosch in 2019. He now stands at World No. 52 on Pepperstone ATP Live Rankings, following his excellent run at the Winston-Salem Open.

In the other semifinal clash of the day, Laslo Đere advanced to the championship match after securing a 7-6(3), 7-6(5) victory against Swiss qualifier Marc-Andrea Huesler after two hours and 17 minutes of play.

Laslo Đere aims to win the third tour level of his career, advancing to his maiden final of the 2022 season.

Botic van de Zandschulp will lock horns with Laslo Đere of Serbia in the championship match of the Winston-Salem Open on August 28.