Frances Tiafoe beats qualifier Marton Fucsovics to reach Stuttgart final

Frances Tiafoe advanced to his seventh tour-level final and first on grass on Saturday when he battled past Hungarian qualifier Marton Fucsovics 6-3, 7-6(11) at the BOSS OPEN in Stuttgart.

The American, who did not face a break point in the match, saved six set points in an epic second-set tie-break to book his spot in the championship match after one hour and 37 minutes.

“I have played some solid tennis. It is one of my favourites surfaces. It is good to get out here and get some matches,” Tiafoe said.

The third seed Tiafoe is chasing his third tour-level title and second of the season this week, having triumphed on clay in Houston in April.

Tiafoe is making his debut in Stuttgart, with his best result on grass prior to this week runs to the quarter-finals at The Queen’s Club in 2018 and 2021. The 25-year-old is up one place to No. 11 in the Pepperstone ATP Live Rankings and will break the Top 10 for the first time if he wins the trophy in Germany.

The 25-year-old will meet fourth seed Hubert Hurkacz or Germany’s Jan-Lennard Struff in Sunday’s final.

Fucsovics, who was aiming to reach his fourth tour-level final, is up 20 spots to No. 66 in the Pepperstone ATP Live Rankings.