STUTTGART/STARNBERG, June 12, 2026
Taylor Fritz successfully kept his BOSS Open title defence alive on Friday, but not before surviving another demanding three-set battle at the ATP grass-court tournament in Stuttgart.
After needing three sets to overcome Spain’s Martin Landaluce in the round of 16, the defending champion and BOSS brand ambassador was once again pushed to the limit by Italy’s Mattia Bellucci. Fritz eventually prevailed 5-7, 7-5, 7-5 after two hours and 26 minutes of high-quality tennis to secure his place in the semi-finals, where he will face Kazakhstan’s Alexander Bublik.
Patience was required from players and spectators alike throughout the day, as persistent rain delayed the start of play by nearly five hours.
Action finally resumed shortly before 4:00 p.m. local time with the completion of the suspended round-of-16 match between top seed Ben Shelton and fellow US-American Marcos Giron. The contest had been halted the previous evening with Giron leading 7-6(4), 4-4.
Shelton immediately found his rhythm upon returning to court, breaking for a 5-4 lead in the second set before closing it out to level the match. Giron responded with an early break in the deciding set and moved ahead 2-0, but Shelton fought back and eventually survived a dramatic finish.
Serving at 4-5, the world No. 5 saved a match point before forcing a decisive tiebreak. Trailing 3-5, Shelton won four consecutive points to complete a remarkable comeback and seal a 6-7(4), 6-4, 7-6(5) victory after two hours and 38 minutes.
Shelton returned to Centre Court later in the evening for his quarterfinal against Japanese qualifier Sho Shimabukuro. However, after Shimabukuro claimed the opening set 6-4, darkness forced play to be suspended. The match will resume on Saturday at 12:00 p.m. local time
Awaiting the winner is fourth seed Jiri Lehecka, who continued his impressive run by defeating 2023 Stuttgart champion Frances Tiafoe 6-4, 7-6(4).
The quarterfinal between Fritz and Bellucci provided some of the day’s best entertainment. Bellucci played with remarkable freedom and creativity, repeatedly troubling the US-American with aggressive shot-making and fearless court coverage. The decisive moment came late in the third set when the Italian lost his serve after being briefly distracted by a crying child in the stands.
Fritz The FIGHTER 😤
The second seed continues his title defence with a hard-fought 5-7 7-5 7-5 win over Bellucci!@boss__open | #BOSSOpen pic.twitter.com/RYRx3pVwwN
— Tennis TV (@TennisTV) June 12, 2026
“I’m just happy to have won the match,” Fritz said afterwards. “It was really tough, just like my first match here. On grass, it’s so important to win the big points and come through the close matches. I served well, but in the first two sets he hardly gave me any opportunities. He played incredibly well and I simply had to stay mentally locked in.”
Fritz also downplayed any thoughts about defending his title.
“Everyone keeps asking me about it, but I’m not thinking about defending the trophy. I’m just trying to stay focused on the next match.”
His next opponent, Alexander Bublik, earned his semi-final spot with a pair of tiebreak victories over France’s Giovanni Mpetshi Perricard, winning 7-6(5), 7-6(3). The unpredictable Kazakh has been one of the standout performers of the week and now stands between Fritz and another appearance in the Stuttgart final.
Meanwhile, there was good news for the home crowd in the doubles competition. Germany’s Yannick Hanfmann and Jan-Lennard Struff booked their place in Sunday’s final after saving three match points in a dramatic semi-final against Vasil Kirkov of the United States and Austria’s Lucas Miedler.
The German duo recovered to win 6-4, 3-6, 11-9 in the match tiebreak and will now face the winners of the clash between Francisco Cabral and Nikola Mektic and the pairing of Daniil Glinka and Stefanos Sakellaridis.
