Jack Draper advanced to the BOSS OPEN semi-finals on Friday by rallying past Frances Tiafoe, the champion from the previous year, 5-7, 6-4, 7-6(1). Draper’s impressive play on the Stuttgart lawns continued on Friday.
At the ATP 250 event, the left-hander, who has moved up seven ranks to No. 33 in the PIF ATP Live Rankings, put on an impressive serve. After two hours and thirteen minutes, Draper hit 31 aces, according to Infosys ATP Stats, and supported his precise deliveries with powerful groundstrokes to reach his sixth tour-level semi-final.
“I am incredibly happy,” Draper declared. “My last three tie-breaks in the third set I have lost them all, so to come through today is amazing and I am really proud of my level. I am really happy with how I served and it was a really high-quality match.”
This week, Draper hopes to win his first ATP Tour title. He has appeared at ease on the grass in Germany. The 22-year-old was coming into Stuttgart fresh off three straight losses on clay, but this week he found his winning combination again, moving up to 16-12 on the season.
With the win, Draper’s record against 13-13 in 2024 Tiafoe in their Lexus ATP Head2Head series now stands at 1-1. Due to illness, Germany’s Jan-Lennard Struff gave the American a walkover, and Draper will now play Brandon Nakashima in the semi-finals.
Later on Friday, qualifier James Duckworth was defeated 6-4, 7-5, by Matteo Berrettini, who extended his unbeaten record in tour-level quarterfinals on grass to 7-0. In their first-ever Lexus ATP Head2Head match, the two-time champion defeated World No. 101 Duckworth with just one break of serve in each set.
In Stuttgart, where he won the championship in 2019 and 2022, Berrettini is currently 12-1. He hadn’t raced since early April until this past week in Germany. However, this is the 28-year-old Italian’s first grass-court semifinal since his Queen’s Club victory in 2022.
In the last four, Berrettini, a former No. 6 in the PIF ATP Rankings, will face fellow countryman Lorenzo Musetti. Alexander Bublik withdrew from their quarterfinal match, leaving the fifth-seeded Musetti with a 4-6, 6-1, 1-0 lead.