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Holger Rune, Taylor Fritz Advance to Munich Semifinals

Photo credit: Rolex Monte-Carlo Masters Facebook.

Sometime practice partners Holger Rune and Taylor Fritz pushed one match closer to a Munich final showdown.

The top-seeded Rune dispatched Cristian Garin 6-2, 6-4 to charge into his fourth semifinal of the season at the Munich BMW Open.

Shaking off a brutal loss in the Monte-Carlo Open final on Sunday that saw him squander a 4-1 third-set lead bowing to Andrey Rublev, Rune has played clean, confident tennis in his Munich return.

The defending Munich champion broke serve four times and won 13 of 22 points played on Garin’s second serve defeating the Chilean for the third time in as many meetings. Rune has swept all six sets he’s played against Garin.

The 19-year-old Dane will face Aussie Christopher O’Connell for a place in Sunday’s final.

World No. 82 O’Connell battled by Italian qualifier Fabio Cobollo 7-6(5), 4-6, 6-3 into his second career ATP semifinal.

The second-seeded Fritz saved four of five break points defeating Dominic Thiem 6-3, 6-4 in 92 minutes. 

Thiem was playing his second match of the day after rallying for a 5-7, 6-4, 6-4 win over Marc-Andrea Huesler in a match that began on Thursday but was suspended due to darkness with the eighth-seeded Swiss holding a 7-5, 3-3 lead.

It’s a milestone moment for Fritz, who secured his spot in successive clay-court semifinals for the first time in his career.

Last week, Fritz toppled two-time defending champion Stefanos Tsitsipas en route to the Monte-Carlo final four.

Tomorrow, Fritz will face Botic van de Zandschulp, a 7-6(5), 6-3 victor over American Marcos Giron, for a spot in the final. 

World No. 29 van de Zandschulp topped Fritz in their lone prior meeting, 6-4, 7-6(3), on an indoor hard court at the 2022 Davis Cup.

The 2022 Indian Wells champion Fritz carries a 25-7 record on the season into the semifinals. Fritz is third on the ATP for most 2023 wins behind leader Daniil Medvedev (31-4) and Jannik Sinner (26-6).