Fritz keeps title defense alive

BOSS ambassador Taylor Fritz battled past Italy’s Mattia Bellucci 5-7, 7-5, 7-5 to reach the semi-finals of the BOSS OPEN. Alexander Bublik and Jiri Lehecka also booked their places in the last four, while the quarter-final between Ben Shelton and Sho Shimabukuro will resume on Saturday.

World No. 78 Bellucci produced an outstanding performance for long stretches of the match and repeatedly pushed the defending champion to his limits. In the opening set, the Italian secured the decisive break for 6-5 before confidently serving it out.

Bellucci continued to impress in the second set with a series of spectacular winners, but Fritz refused to go away and gradually found his rhythm. At 6-5 in favor of the American, Bellucci saved one set point on serve, but could do nothing about the second as Fritz levelled the match.

That proved to be the turning point. Both players remained virtually untouchable on serve throughout the deciding set, but Fritz ultimately found a way through at the crucial moment. Once again leading 6-5, the American capitalized when Bellucci wobbled on serve. After 2 hours and 26 minutes, Fritz converted his second match point to secure a place in the semi-finals.

Following the hard-fought victory, Fritz was full of praise for his opponent. “I actually served well and felt good out there, but he didn’t give me many opportunities in the first two sets,” Fritz said. “He played incredibly well.”

Asked about his chances of defending the title, the American remained cautious. “I’m taking it one match at a time, just like I did last year. I came here without huge expectations last year because the first couple of weeks on grass have always been difficult for me. So I’m approaching it exactly the same way this year.”

Semi-final against Bublik

Fritz will face Alexander Bublik in Saturday’s semi-finals. The third seed from Kazakhstan came through a serving masterclass against France’s Giovanni Mpetshi Perricard, winning 7-6(5), 7-6(3) in just 1 hour and 28 minutes.

Neither player managed to earn a single break point throughout the match, underlining the quality of the serving on display. Bublik fired 11 aces, while Mpetshi Perricard blasted 19. In the end, however, it was the Kazakh who edged both tie-breaks to advance.

Lehecka awaits his opponent

Jiri Lehecka became the third semi-finalist of the tournament with a 6-4, 7-6(4) victory over 2023 BOSS OPEN champion Frances Tiafoe.

The Czech will have to wait a little longer to find out his opponent. Due to a lengthy rain delay, the quarter-final between top seed Ben Shelton and Japanese qualifier Sho Shimabukuro could not be completed. At the time play was suspended because of darkness, the Japanese underdog was leading 6-4. The match will resume on Saturday morning.