Draper hits 31 aces to down defending champ Tiafoe in Stuttgart, Berrettini reaches SFs

Jack Draper continued to impress on the lawns in Stuttgart on Friday when he clawed past last year’s champion Frances Tiafoe 5-7, 6-4, 7-6(1) to reach the semi-finals at the BOSS OPEN.

The lefty, who is up seven spots to No. 33 in the PIF ATP Live Rankings, produced an explosive display on serve at the ATP 250 event. Draper fired 31 aces, according to Infosys ATP Stats, and backed up pinpoint deliveries with fierce groundstrokes to advance to his sixth tour-level semi-final after two hours and 13 minutes.

"I am incredibly happy," Draper said. "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."

What a match! 🤝

Jack Draper hits 31 aces on his way to defeating Tiafoe 5-7 6-4 7-6(1) to reach his 6th ATP Tour SF!

@boss__open | #BOSSOPEN pic.twitter.com/a9XJuCYMeo

— ATP Tour (@atptour) June 14, 2024

Draper is aiming to win his maiden ATP Tour title this week and has looked comfortable on the grass in Germany. The 22-year-old arrived in Stuttgart off the back of three consecutive defeats on clay, but has refound the winning formula this week to improve to 16-12 on the season.

With his victory, Draper improved to 1-1 in his Lexus ATP Head2Head series against Tiafoe, who is 13-13 in 2024. Draper will face Brandon Nakashima in the semi-finals after the American received a walkover from Germany’s Jan-Lennard Struff due to illness.

Later on Friday, Matteo Berrettini improved his perfect record in tour-level quarter-finals on grass to 7-0 by defeating qualifier James Duckworth 6-4, 7-5. A single break of serve in each set was enough for the two-time champion to overcome the World No. 101 Duckworth in the pair’s maiden Lexus ATP Head2Head meeting.

Berrettini is now 12-1 in Stuttgart, where he lifted the trophy in 2019 and 2022. Prior to this week in Germany, he had not competed since early April. Yet the 28-year-old Italian is now into his first grass-court semi-final since his 2022 Queen’s Club triumph.

A former No. 6 in the PIF ATP Rankings, Berrettini will take on his countryman Lorenzo Musetti in the last four. The fifth-seeded Musetti advanced after Alexander Bublik retired from the pair's quarter-final with the Italian leading 4-6, 6-1, 1-0.