Tirante beats Tabilo to reach first ATP final in Stockholm, the day he opened up on his mental health
Thiago Agustin Tirante beat fourth seed Alejandro Tabilo 7-5, 7-6 (1) to reach the first ATP Tour final of his career at the Bybit Stockholm Open, on the day his interview about his mental health struggles was published.
Thiago Agustin Tirante, Stockholm 2026 | © JESPER ZERMAN/BILDBYRÅN/Shutterstock/SIPA
Thiago Agustin Tirante reached the first ATP Tour final of his career on Friday, beating fourth seed Alejandro Tabilo 7-5, 7-6 (1) in 1 hour 48 minutes in the semi-finals of the Bybit Stockholm Open.
In the second set, Tirante broke for 5-4 but was broken back as he served for the match. He made no mistake in the tie-break, winning the first five points and closing it out 7-1.
The Argentine, ranked No. 51, will face top seed Taylor Fritz in the final. The American beat Lorenzo Musetti 6-4, 6-2 in 63 minutes in the other semi-final.
A first final at the third attempt
It was Tirante’s third ATP Tour semi-final, and his first on hard courts. In Stockholm, he had received a walkover from fifth seed Tomas Martin Etcheverry, beaten Jaume Munar 7-6 (3), 6-3, then ended qualifier Aleksandr Shevchenko’s run 7-6 (5), 6-7 (5), 6-3 in the quarter-finals.
Tabilo, who had beaten Lorenzo Sonego and sixth seed Alex Michelsen earlier in the week, was playing his fourth ATP Tour semi-final of the season, and his first on indoor hard courts.
“I am happy now”
The win came on the day Tirante opened up about the mental health issues that have weighed on him in recent years. “I haven’t really been happy for the last couple of years, but I am happy now,” he told Bolavip. “I have always had the game, but I wasn’t feeling mentally well.”
It caps the best season of his career. In August, he made his breakthrough in Cincinnati, beating Novak Djokovic 2-6, 6-4, 6-4 in the second round, then Martin Landaluce and Jakub Mensik, to reach his first Masters 1000 quarter-final, where Arthur Fils stopped him.
