Friday´s results in Challenger Tour: Nishioka and Tiafoe in Winnetka final. Bellucci in his first title match since..

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* Braunschweig, Germany, €106,500+H (Outdoor Clay) : Braunschweig is one of the best organized and most praised tournament on the Challenger Tour, and it is by far the strongest event in action this week, offering 125 points to the winner, which is maximum at this level of competition.

Thomaz Bellucci saw a nice chance to earn some wealthy bunch of points, and this is his first Challenger tournament after Irving in March of 2015. Thomaz will play in his 14th final at this level (the first since Orleans in 2014) after edging Teymuraz Gabashvili 6-7 6-4 6-4 in almost 3 hours of play.

In the end, Brazilian played a little better both on serve and return, and he made 5 breaks of serve versus 3 from Teymuraz. There were no breaks of serve in the opening set, with Bellucci saving 2 break points in a marathon game 7, holding after 7 deuces to stay in front! He also had a 5-3 lead in the tie break but Gabashvili stepped in to win 5 out of next 6 points to win it by 8-6.

The second set saw a completely different scenario, with breaks of serve in the first 5 games, Bellucci made 3 of them to have the advantage that he kept until the end, winning the set 6-4 after saving a break point in the last game, sending the match into a decider.

Gabashvili was closer to bring it home, having a 3-1 lead after break in game 4, but from that moment on Brazilian started to play much better to perform a comeback. He broke in games 5 and 7 to go to the right side of the scoreboard, and that was all he needed to seal the win.

2nd seed Inigo Cervantes had an easier day at the office against home player Tobias Kamke, beating the German 7-5 6-3 for his first final since ATP Challenger Tour Finals in late November. Spaniard served at only 45% but he kept his games safe, losing serve only 2 times while breaking Kamke on 4 occasions for a solid win.

30-year-old German lost almost half of the points on his serve, and he couldn't expect a better result in those circumstances. He was broken at love in game 6, leaving Cervantes to serve for the set in game 9, but he broke back to prolong the opener for a few more games.

Kamke's efforts were in vain, though, as he lost his serve in game 12 to consign the set 7-5. Cervantes played a loose game at the start of the second set, losing his serve, but he annulled that with an immediate break back, which is always very important.

The deciding moment came in game 6 after another break from the Spaniard and he stayed in front with 2 comfortable holds to book his place in the final. Semi-final results: [1]Thomaz Bellucci (BRA) vs Teymuraz Gabashvili (RUS) 6-7(6) 6-4 6-4 [2:53]
[2]Inigo Cervantes (ESP) vs Tobias Kamke (GER) 7-5 6-3 [1:29]
* Cali, Colombia, $50,000+H (Outdoor Clay) : Victor Estrella Burgos is the first seed in Cali, and the first favorite to win the title as he likes to play on clay courts with high altitude.

He stayed on the court less than 40 minutes in the quarter-final against Nicolas Barrientos, breaking him in the first and the last game of the first set before Barrientos had to retire. Victor played only 3 Challengers this season before Cali, with not so good results, so he would for sure love to go all the way here.

Federico Coria, a younger brother of much more famous Guillermo, will play in his first Challenger semi-final after ousting Chilean qualifier Marcelo Tomas Barrios Vera 6-3 6-3. This was only the 3rd Challenger event for 18-year-old Chilean, and he probably left out of gas since he started from the qualifying round.

It was a rather poor match, with 26 break points in total and 13 breaks, as they both struggle to find a good rhythm on serve, especially after missing the first. In the first set, there was only one hold, Coria stayed unbroken in game 4 which brought him the set in the end, and the feast of breaks continued in the second set, with 5 in a row in the closing stage.

Federico made 3 of them to notch a win, but he will need much better tennis in the next round. Like Coria, Darian King from Barbados also advances to the last 4 at Challenger level for the first time, prevailing over a home player with a wild card, Cristian Rodriguez.

King won by 6-4 5-7 6-1 in 2 hours time, recovering from losing the close second set by dominating in the third. It was a similar pattern in the first two sets, with back-to-back breaks earlier and then one more in the closing stages, King made it in the 10th game of the first and Rodriguez in the 11th game of the second set.

Still, Darian went on to break his rival thrice in the third set to cross the finish line first and to celebrate his best result in a career so far. Jose Hernandez-Fernandez, another player from the Dominican Republic, also made the semi-final after prevailing over 5th seed Joao Souza 6-4 3-6 7-6.

Both players scored 4 breaks of serve and it all came down to the 3rd set tie break which Jose won 7-4 for his first semi-final since Lima in late October last year. Quarter-final results: [1]Victor Estrella Burgos (DOM) vs Nicolas Barrientos (COL) 6-3 Ret [34]
Federico Coria (ARG) vs [Q]Marcelo Tomas Barrios Vera 6-3 6-3 [1:18]
Jose Hernandez-Fernandez (DOM) vs [5]Joao Souza (BRA) 6-4 3-6 7-6(4) [2:29]
[7]Darian King (BAR) vs [WC]Cristian Rodriguez (COL) 6-4 5-7 6-1 [2:00]
* Winnetka, USA, $50,000 (Outdoor Hard) : In Winnetka, it will be a battle between two youngsters in the final, as both Yoshihito Nishioka and Frances Tiafoe advances to the title match.

In all-Japanese derby, Nishioka dismantles 5th seed Go Soeda 6-2 6-3 in just over an hour, staying on track for his 3rd Challenger crown. 11-years-younger Nishioka played a rock solid match, saving both break points he faced and breaking Soeda twice in each set to keep the control firmly in his hands.

His rival in the final will be home player Frances Tiafoe, who bested 6th seed Peter Gojowczyk 6-4 7-6 in just 70 minutes. For Tiafoe, this will be his 4th attempt to win the first Challenger title for him and also for the 1998 generation, losing the previous 3 finals that he entered, all of them at home in the United States.

Frances and Peter played a quick and fluid match, with short games and rallies as well, with only 3 breaks of serve. Tiafoe gained the advantage in the 5th game of the first set, keeping it until the final 6-4 score, and in the second they exchanged back-to-back breaks before entering the tie break.

Frances built an early 5-2 lead and manage to hold on the pressure from German, winning the tie break 7-5 to reach the final. Semi-final results: [1]Yoshihito Nishioka (JPN) vs [5]Go Soeda (JPN) 6-2 6-3 [1:03]
[8]Frances Tiafoe (USA) vs [6]Peter Gojowczyk (GER) 6-4 7-6(5) [1:10] More results on the next page... ALSO READ: WIMBLEDON DOUBLES: 2nd Grand Slam title for Mahut and Herbert. Williams sisters claims their 14th Grand Slam crown!