Hanfmann and Struff delight home crowd with doubles title
Taylor Fritz moved to within one victory of successfully defending his BOSS OPEN title with a straight-sets win over Kazakhstan’s Alexander Bublik. Awaiting the American in Sunday’s final (starting at 2:00 p.m.) is fellow countryman Ben Shelton, who prevailed in an epic three-set battle against Jiri Lehecka that lasted nearly three hours. The final will therefore feature the tournament’s top two remaining seeds and promises a thrilling showdown between two of the biggest stars in American tennis.
After battling through two tough three-set matches in the round of 16 and quarter-finals, Fritz surprisingly needed just 68 minutes to overcome his highest-ranked opponent of the week so far. The second seed defeated third-seeded Alexander Bublik 6-4, 6-4 to reach his second consecutive final on Stuttgart’s Weissenhof.
The match did not begin as smoothly as the scoreline might suggest. Bublik capitalized on a Fritz double fault to break immediately and take a 1-0 lead. However, the Kazakh handed the advantage straight back at 4-3 with two double faults of his own. Fritz seized the opportunity, winning three consecutive games to claim the opening set 6-4.
In the second set, the defending champion was virtually untouchable on serve. Bublik was unable to create any pressure on the Fritz delivery, and fittingly, the match ended with another double fault from the Kazakh on match point.
“I’m happy to be back in the final here,” Fritz said on court afterwards. “I had to fight really hard in my first two matches, so it’s hard to believe I’ve managed to get back to the final again.”
Asked about the possibility of becoming the first player since Thomas Muster in the 1990s to successfully defend the Stuttgart title, Fritz remained focused on the bigger picture.
“It’s always cool to defend a title,” he said. “But more importantly, a win here would mean a great start to the grass-court season. I always feel very comfortable in Stuttgart – it’s almost like a home tournament for me.”
Shelton reaches final after saving match points
The second semi-final turned into a true thriller. With two of the tour’s most dangerous servers in Ben Shelton and Jiri Lehecka facing off, it was clear from the outset that the margins would be razor-thin. The final scoreline of 6-7(4), 7-6(14), 7-6(6) after 2 hours and 52 minutes proved exactly that.
The match lived up to all expectations. Neither player managed to break serve throughout the entire contest, meaning all three sets had to be decided in tie-breaks. In the opening set, Lehecka held the upper hand. Trailing 3-4 in the tie-break, the fourth-seeded Czech reeled off four consecutive points to claim the set.
The second-set tie-break was drama at its very best. Shelton saved two match points before finally converting his eighth set point to make it 16-14 and level the contest.
The deciding set followed a familiar pattern, with both players remaining untouchable on serve. Once again, the outcome came down to a tie-break. This time, however, Shelton struck quickly and converted his second match point after nearly three hours of play to seal an 8-6 victory in the third set decider.
“The grass-court season is short, so I’m trying to spend as much time on court as possible,” Shelton joked during his on-court interview, having already gone the distance in each of his first two matches at the 2026 BOSS OPEN.
“There are a lot of ways to win a tennis match. Here, I seem to have chosen the most complicated one every time.”
Shelton also had high praise for his opponent. “He played unbelievably well today,” the American said of Lehecka.
In Sunday’s final, Shelton will face fellow American Taylor Fritz. Shelton currently leads their head-to-head series 2-1, with their most recent meeting coming just a few weeks ago in Dallas, where Shelton prevailed in three sets.
“It’s always fun to play Taylor,” Shelton said. “He’s one of the top players we have in the United States. I hope the fans come out again tomorrow in big numbers and create a great atmosphere.”