Tiafoe beats Fritz for a first title in three years

Four. That is how many finals Frances Tiafoe had lost in a row before Halle, where he beat Taylor Fritz 6-4 6-4 for his first title in three years and the biggest of his career.

Tiafoe had not won a title since Stuttgart in June 2023, and had lost his next four finals: Houston twice, Cincinnati and Acapulco. The run to this one carried a little revenge. He opened against Flavio Cobolli, the man who beat him in the Acapulco final in February, won that in straight sets, then saw off Sho Shimabukuro and came from a set down to beat world No 4 Felix Auger-Aliassime 3-6 6-3 7-6 in the quarter-finals. A 6-1 6-3 win over Daniel Altmaier put him in the final.

There he met Taylor Fritz, the world No 9 and one of the best grass-court servers in the game, who had beaten him in the 2022 Tokyo final. This time Tiafoe was untouchable on serve: he won 91 percent of his first-serve points, was not broken across the match, and closed it out 6-4 6-4.

Halle is an ATP 500, a level above any title Tiafoe had won before, and his second on grass after Stuttgart. A first trophy in three years, and the biggest of his career, on the surface where he had won the last one.

Match tale, 21 June 2026, sources: Terra Wortmann Open, ATP Tour