Rinderknech is back in the semi-finals in Kitzbühel

Arthur Rinderknech’s strong week continues in Kitzbühel. After celebrating his birthday with a win on Wednesday, the Frenchman followed up on Thursday by defeating German qualifier Yannick Hanfmann (6-4, 3-6, 6-1) to reach the semi-finals of the Austrian tournament at the Kitzbühel Tennis Club.

It’s the first time this season that the world No. 65 has reached this stage of an ATP Tour event. His last semifinal appearance dates back to a year ago, when he fell just short of the final at the Atlanta tournament.

Aggressive in the rallies, Arthur Rinderknech finished the match with 32 winners, including 13 aces, and dropped his serve only once, compared to three breaks against his opponent. Coming through the qualifiers, Yannick Hanfmann put up a good fight by taking the second set, but he struggled physically in the deciding set.

Rinderknech could face Cazaux next

This is the second time in three appearances that the French player has reached the semifinals of the Austrian tournament. In 2021, he was defeated at this stage by Norway’s Casper Ruud, who was ranked No. 14 in the world at the time.

“I was able to bring more intensity than him in the third set. We’ve both spent a lot of time on court since the start of the tournament, but physically I felt better than he did. This is my favorite time of the year—I feel great here, and it’s my third time playing this tournament,” said the winner.

Rinderknech, ranked No 65, will play the winner of the match between Frenchman Arthur Cazaux and German qualifier Jan-Lennard Struff next.

The Frenchman edged out Slovak qualifier Norbert Gombos (6-7 (3), 6-4, 6-4) and won against Argentinian qualifier Facundo Bagnis (7-6 (4), 4-6, 6-3) in the previous rounds of the Kitzbuhel tournament.

Earlier in the tournament, Hanfmann, ranked No 141, edged out Argentinian Sebastian Baez, the second seed (5-7, 6-3, 7-5) and won against Austrian wildcard Lukas Neumayer (7-5, 6-2).

Kitzbuhel ATP 250, other quarter-finals results (Kitzbühel Tennis Club, clay, EUR 596.035, most recent results first):

• Thiago Seyboth Wild vs. Botic van de Zandschulp
• Alexander Bublik vs. Alexander Shevchenko
• Arthur Cazaux vs. Jan-Lennard Struff