ATP Tour

Fritz survives second three-set scare in as many days in Stuttgart

For the second time this week, Taylor Fritz rallied from behind to keep alive his title defence hopes at the BOSS OPEN in Stuttgart.

The American survived in a third-set tie-break against Martin Landaluce on Thursday and then clawed past Italian Mattia Bellucci 5-7, 7-5, 7-5 on Friday to advance to his second tour-level semi-final of the season.

The second seed was moved from corner to corner by lefty Bellucci, but refused to succumb to the pressure. As is often the case on grass, Fritz relied on his serve to get out of trouble, firing 11 aces and making 71 per cent of his first deliveries to triumph after two hours and 27 minutes. Fritz is chasing his sixth grass-court title this week. Among active players, only Novak Djokovic (8) has won more on the surface.

"I was happy to get through another one like that," Fritz said in his on-court interview. "It was a pretty tough match and I am really being tested in the first two matches here. I am super happy to get through. One of the most important parts of playing on grass is winning those big points and getting through those close matches as there will be a lot of them on grass."

Fritz will next meet third seed Alexander Bublik, who defeated Frenchman Giovanni Mpetshi Perricard 7-6(5), 7-6(3) to level the pair’s Lexus ATP Head2Head series at 2-2.

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Neither player faced a break point in the match, striking 30 aces between them (19-11 Mpetshi Perricard), according to Infosys ATP Stats. Bublik is chasing more success on German grass courts this week, having won the title at the ATP 500 event in Halle in 2023 and 2025.

Fourth seed Jiri Lehecka moved to his second semi-final of the season with a 6-4, 7-6(4) victory against sixth-seeded American Frances Tiafoe, who lifted the trophy in Stuttgart in 2023.

Lehecka is the first Czech semi-finalist at the ATP 250 event since Lukas Rosol. The 24-year-old, who reached the title match on grass at the Queen’s Club last season, has now earned three Top 30 wins in 2026 and will next meet Ben Shelton or Japanese qualifier Sho Shimabukuro.

Later in the day, the quarter-final clash between Shelton and Shimabukuro was suspended due to darkness after Shimabukuro clinched the first set 6-4. The players will return Saturday to finish the match, before the winner will face Lehecka for a place in the final. Shelton was aiming to pull off a double duty Friday after he defeated Marcos Giron 6-7(4), 6-4, 7-6(5) earlier in the day in a clash that was suspended due to slippery conditions Thursday.