ATP Tour

Tiafoe saves 3 MPs to outlast Auger-Aliassime, Altmaier upsets Medvedev in Halle

Frances Tiafoe earned a dramatic win late Friday night at the Terra Wortmann Open, where he saved three match points to rally past Felix Auger-Aliassime 3-6, 6-3, 7-6(12) for a place in the semi-finals.

Tiafoe trailed 0-2 in the third set and was two points away from defeat, serving at 5-6, 30/30, but came up with huge first serves to force a tie-break. The American once again displayed composure and saved three match points to complete the comeback. While Auger-Aliassime fired 25 aces, Tiafoe outlasted the second seed in baseline exchanges and saved seven of the nine break points he faced, according to Infosys ATP Stats.

"It was an up-and-down match," Tiafoe said. "Both of us knew we were both going to give it one last push and I am happy I came through. He had his chances, I had my chances. Classic grass-court match."

With his two-hour, 32-minute win, Tiafoe improved to 1-3 in the pair's LexusATP head2Head series. Set to compete in the semi-finals at the ATP 500 event for the first time, the American will next face Daniel Altmaier.

Watch highlights from Altmaier's QF win in Halle:

Altmaier captured his biggest win of the year earlier on Friday, when he upset World No. 7 Daniil Medvedev 6-4, 6-7(6), 6-4 to reach his first semi-final above ATP 250 level.

The German wild card was broken to love when serving for the match at 5-3 but recovered immediately in the following game to break Medvedev’s serve and earn victory on his third match point after two hours and 45 minutes.

Altmaier ripped a forehand winner to move 0/30 ahead in the final game and then sealed his eighth Top 10 win with a forehand winner down the line.

“It means a lot and on a surface I have not had the greatest results," Altmaier said. "I am really happy to go through. A lot of emotions coming through my head but I am really happy right now. I will enjoy that moment.”

Prior to this week, Altmaier had not won a match in Halle in three previous appearances. However, the 27-year-old has played flawlessly all week to become just the fourth wild card to reach the Halle semi-finals, joining David Prinosil, Tommy Haas and Nick Kyrgios.

Altmaier has been working with former ATP Tour star Dustin Brown this week and credited the German for his change in approach.

“I am way more aggressive,” Altmaier said on his run in Halle, where he has also defeated Hubert Hurkacz and Nikoloz Basilashvili. “I feel like I am a talented player and felt like I needed to discover that. As a child I went to the net a lot and then on my way I got more comfortable on slower surfaces and now we have an eye opener to play better on faster surfaces and it is working out really well.”

Medvedev was aiming to reach the semi-finals in Halle for the third time, according to the Infosys ATP Win/Loss Index. The 30-year-old advanced to the title match at the grass-court event in 2022 and 2025.