CHENGDU, September 27, 2026 (Media Release)

Second seed Alejandro Davidovich Fokina continued his impressive debut run at the Chengdu Open, powering into the semi-finals with a 6-1, 7-5 victory over French qualifier Alexandre Muller.

The Spaniard dominated the opening set, securing breaks in the second and fourth games as his aggressive approach immediately put Muller under pressure. The second set proved far more closely contested, but Davidovich Fokina made the decisive breakthrough in the 11th game before serving out the straight-sets victory.

The World No. 29 did not face a break point throughout the match and won 80 per cent of the points behind his first serve as he advanced to his 14th ATP Tour semi-final and third this season.

“I started the first set very aggressively on my serve and was able to capitalise on a couple of mistakes on his serve. I knew the second set was going to be a battle. He changed his rhythm, played more solidly from the baseline and made things more difficult. At the end, I was able to anticipate where he would serve and get the break,” said the 27-year-old. “Now, I will recover, relax and go and see some pandas,” he added with a smile.

Fifth seed Hubert Hurkacz prevailed in a hard-fought encounter against South African qualifier Lloyd Harris, winning 7-6(10), 6-4 in one hour and 56 minutes.

Hurkacz struck first with a break in the third game of the opening set, but Harris responded in the fifth to force a tie-break. In a gripping back-and-forth battle, the Pole saved five set points, including three in succession from 3-6 down, before converting his third opportunity to take it 12-10.

The former World No. 6 carried that momentum into the second set by breaking Harris in the opening game. Hurkacz then fended off seven break points across the remainder of the set to preserve his advantage and advance to his 23rd tour-level semi-final and first of the season.

Securing that SF spot 💥@HubertHurkacz moves through in Chengdu, overcoming Harris 7-6 6-4 in a tight contest#ChengduOpen pic.twitter.com/pyMr2SzeKC

— Tennis TV (@TennisTV) September 27, 2026

“I’m really pleased with the performance. He’s a great player and played extremely well today, so it was very important that I stayed composed in the crucial moments,” said Hurkacz. “I’m very happy with how I came through the match.”

Seventh seed Denis Shapovalov recovered from a set down to defeat French veteran Adrian Mannarino 6-7(6), 6-3, 6-2 in two hours and 31 minutes, advancing to his third ATP Tour semi-final of the season.

After neither player faced a break point in the opening set, Shapovalov let a 4-1 tie-break lead slip as Mannarino recovered to take it 8-6. The Canadian responded strongly, breaking twice in each of the next two sets while saving all four break points he faced. Shapovalov struck 14 aces and 36 winners to secure his second Chengdu Open semi-final appearance in as many visits, seven years after reaching the same stage in 2019.

“It was a tough first set. I thought I was the better player at the start of the tie-break, but I let it slip a little,” said Shapovalov. “But tennis is best of three sets, so I tried my best to win the next two. I’m very happy with how I was able to turn the match around.” 

Georgian qualifier Nikoloz Basilashvili continued his impressive run at the Chengdu Open today, defeating US-American Jenson Brooksby 6-4, 7-6(4) in one hour and 33 minutes to reach his first ATP Tour semi-final since Doha in 2022.

The former World No. 16 broke in the opening game and protected that advantage to take the first set. He struck again in the third game of the second and had the opportunity to close out the match when he served at 5-4, but Brooksby broke back to become the first player to breach the Georgian’s serve this week.

Basilashvili quickly regained his composure and drew on his serve to take control of the tie-break, completing his fifth consecutive straight-sets victory across qualifying and the main draw. His aggressive approach proved decisive as he struck 27 winners to Brooksby’s seven.

“Even though I was playing well and felt in control, I became quite tight when I was serving at 5-4 and lost some momentum. But my serve helped me in the end, and I was able to put more energy into the tie-break,” said the 34-year-old. “I have been quite consistent here and have been playing well, so hopefully I can keep it going like this.”