ATP Tour

Struff shocks Fils in Brussels, sets Griekspoor final clash

Jan-Lennard Struff earned one of the biggest wins of his season and made history at the BNP Paribas Fortis European Open Saturday, when he shocked top seed Arthur Fils in the semi-finals.

With his 6-4, 6-7(7), 7-6(5) victory against the World No. 10 at the Belgian ATP 250 event, the 34-year-old notched his third Top 10 win of the season and became the first German man in tournament history to advance to the final.

After dropping the second set in a closely fought tie-break, the German found himself trailing 4-5 in the third set, with Fils serving for the match. However, Struff responded with steely resolve, breaking the Frenchman’s serve to love to level the set at 5-5. The German held his nerve in another tightly contested tie-break to seal victory in two hours and 18 minutes.

"I want to thank the crowd for the support. It was an unreal match," Struff said following his victory. "I felt I played a very, very good first set, he won the second set which was very close. I managed to come back from a break down twice in the third set. I am just very happy to get the win."

Despite his defeat, Fils remains in contention to qualify for the Nitto ATP Finals for the first time in his career. The 21-year-old is currently in seventh place in the PIF ATP Live Race to Turin, 266 points ahead of ninth-placed Rafael Jodar, who is effectively in the final qualification spot.

Struff, who reached the Wimbledon quarter-finals in July, is now into his first ATP Tour final since his title run on home soil in Munich in 2024. Standing between the German and the Brussels trophy on Sunday will be Tallon Griekspoor. The Dutchman leads 3-0 in the pair’s Lexus ATP Head2Head series.

Earlier, Griekspoor, who rallied to upset second seed Jiri Lehecka in the last eight, earned another comeback victory at the Belgian ATP 250, where he stunned third seed Francisco Cerundolo 2-6, 6-3, 7-6(4) in the first semi-final of the day.

The Dutchman trailed 3-5 in the third set, when Cerundolo served for a place in the final. But Griekspoor kept his composure and reeled off two consecutive games to level. The 30-year-old then produced a composed display in the tie-break, eventually sealing victory in two hours and six minutes.

With the win, Griekspoor advanced to his seventh ATP Tour final, and second this season after Dubai in February. The 30-year-old is the first Dutchman to reach an ATP Tour final on indoor hard courts since Robin Haase in Vienna in 2013.

"Reaching a final is always super sweet," Griekspoor shared following his triumph. "It was a tough match. I was down by a break deep in the third set but I found my best tennis of the day when I needed it the most. I’m very happy and proud of myself."