OEIRAS/STARNBERG, April 18, 2026

Henrique Rocha booked the most significant semi-final appearance of his career at the Oeiras Open 125, capping a strong Friday for Portuguese tennis that came close to turning into a perfect day on home soil.

The 126th-ranked Rocha delivered his most dominant performance of the week, dismantling Spanish qualifier Pablo Llamas Ruiz 6-0, 7-5 in one hour and 48 minutes on a well-filled Centre Court at the Jamor Tennis Complex in Oeiras, Portugal. After coming through previous rounds with multiple tie-break wins, the 22-year-old Portuguese made a statement from the outset, racing through the opening set and maintaining control despite a tighter second.

Que maravilha! Henrique Rocha vence Pablo Llamas Ruiz por 6-0 e 7-5 para chegar à 11.ª meia-final Challenger da carreira e a mais importante de todas neste Oeiras Open 125.

Pode defrontar… Jaime Faria! pic.twitter.com/ytOcacR7oP

— Gaspar Ribeiro Lança (@gasparlanca) April 17, 2026

With the victory, Rocha improved to 3-0 in head-to-head meetings against Llamas Ruiz and advanced to his 11th Challenger semi-final overall — his third of the 2026 season and second on home soil. Notably, he has converted both of his previous semi-final appearances this year into final runs, lifting the title in Brasília and finishing runner-up in Santiago, results that propelled him to a career-high ranking.

For a time, the prospect of an all-Portuguese semi-final — one that would have marked a historic moment for the tournament — seemed within reach. Jaime Faria came within a single point of making it happen, but saw his hopes dashed by Roman Safiullin. The former Top 40 player saved a match point before turning the match around to win 4-6, 6-3, 7-6(1).

Faria, champion of the Oeiras Open 4 in 2024, had been unbeaten in six matches at the Jamor clay courts since his title run, but ultimately fell just short of extending that streak.

The heartbreak continued later in the evening for Frederico Silva, who battled for three hours and 18 minutes in a bid to boost his chances of qualifying for Roland Garros. The 32-year-old pushed Dutch lucky loser Max Houkes to the limit, recovering from 2-4 in the final set to force a deciding tie-break. However, Houkes held his nerve to prevail 6-4, 4-6, 7-6(2) in a dramatic encounter that had been interrupted earlier due to fading light and moved to Court 3.

Earlier in the day, top seed Valentin Royer also secured his place in the semi-finals, overcoming Austria’s Joel Schwaerzler 7-5, 3-6, 6-3.