Frances Tiafoe will play in his first grass-court final on Sunday after outlasting Marton Fucsovics in epic Stuttgart Open semifinal tiebreak
- America’s Frances Tiafoe has advanced to the Stuttgart Open final on Sunday
- Tiafoe won the semifinal 6-3, 7-6 (11) after saving six set points in the tiebreak
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American star Frances Tiafoe has reached his first grass-court final after beating Marton Fucsovics in a marathon Stuttgart Open tiebreak on Saturday.
Tiafoe won their semifinal 6-3, 7-6 (11) after saving six set points in the tiebreak.
The 25-year-old seized his chance at 11-10 down to win the next three points, claiming victory with a stinging return shot.
‘Crazy match, crazy second set, I’m just happy to get through,’ he said. ‘I wasn’t relaxed in that tiebreak at all.’
Tiafoe will play Jan-Lennard Struff in Sunday’s final after the home crowd cheered the German player past Hubert Hurkacz 3-6, 6-3, 6-3.
American star Frances Tiafoe has reached his first grass-court final after a marathon tiebreak
Tiafoe beat Marton Fucsovics 6-3, 7-6 (11) after saving six set points in the second-set tiebreak
‘Crazy match, crazy second set, I’m just happy to get through,’ Tiafoe said following his victory
Tiafoe has a 2-4 win-loss record in finals.
He won his last final in April on Houston clay against Tomas Martin Etcheverry.
Hungarian player Fucsovics came through qualifying in Stuttgart and upset Tiafoe’s friend and fellow American player, Taylor Fritz, in the quarterfinals on Friday.
Former tennis pro Boris Becker (center), his son Elias (left) and his partner Lilian de Carvalho Monteiro were in the stands on Saturday
He was bidding to reach his first final since 2021 but his return game was notably lacking against Tiafoe as he failed to force a single break point.
Struff dropped a set for the first time in the tournament but still made his third career final by upsetting the fourth-seeded Hurkacz, a former Wimbledon semifinalist.
Struff is 0-2 in finals and looking for his first career title on Sunday.
He said it ‘means a lot’ to have his family in the crowd because his first final in Germany in Munich in 2021 was played without a crowd amid the coronavirus pandemic.
