In a major surprise at the Libema Open tennis tournament in ‘s-Hertogenbosch, Netherlands, Poland’s Kamil Majchrzak delivered a commanding upset victory on Friday. The Polish player defeated top-seeded Canadian Felix Auger-Aliassime in straight sets, 6-4, 6-3, completing the match in just 69 minutes.
Majchrzak dominated on his serve, winning 85.1% of his service points (40 of 47). This marks his second career victory against a Top-10 ranked opponent and propels him into his third ATP semifinal appearance. His semifinal opponent will be determined by Saturday’s quarterfinal match between No. 3 seed Daniil Medvedev of Russia and Marin Cilic of Croatia.
In other quarterfinal action, Medvedev advanced with a three-set victory over Netherlands’ Thijs Boogaard, winning 6-3, 4-6, 7-6 (6). Meanwhile, Cilic mounted a comeback against Portugal’s Nuno Borges, prevailing 3-6, 7-6 (5), 6-3.
The other semifinal will feature No. 2 Alex de Minaur against France’s Adrian Mannarino. Australia’s de Minaur dominated France’s Benjamin Bonzi 6-2, 6-4, while Mannarino defeated China’s Zhang Zhizhen 7-6 (4), 6-3.
At the BOSS Open in Stuttgart, Germany, defending champion Taylor Fritz mounted another dramatic comeback, defeating Italy’s Mattia Bellucci 5-7, 7-5, 7-5. This marked the second consecutive day Fritz recovered from a deficit, having previously survived match point against Spain’s Martin Landaluce on Thursday.
The No. 2 seeded Fritz found himself in tight situations during both the second and third sets, which were knotted at 5-5 before he elevated his performance. Fritz served 11 aces in securing his semifinal berth.
Fritz’s semifinal opponent will be No. 3 Alexander Bublik of Kazakhstan, who eliminated France’s Giovanni Mpetshi Perricard 7-6 (5), 7-6 (3). In another semifinal matchup, No. 4 Jiri Lehecka of the Czech Republic earned his spot by defeating No. 6 Frances Tiafoe 6-4, 7-6 (4).
Top-seeded Ben Shelton struggled early but managed to defeat fellow American Marcos Giron 6-7 (4), 6-4, 7-6 (5) in second-round action. Shelton’s quarterfinal match against Japan’s Sho Shimabukuro was halted due to insufficient light, with Shelton trailing 4-6 in the opening set.
