Jodar advances to his maiden semifinal as Muller retires at the Grand Prix Hassan II

Rafael Jodar advanced to the semifinals at a tour-level event for the first time on Friday at the Grand Prix Hassan II in Marrakech. Jodar moved into the last four as Alexandre Muller retired in the second set due to injury.

The 19-year-old Spaniard was leading Muller 6-2, 2-0 after 39 minutes when the Frenchman stopped play at the ATP 250 clay-court event. “It was difficult today,” Jodar said in his on-court interview. “It is not the way you want to win a match and I wish Alex the best. I hope he can recover fast and be back on court as soon as possible. I am happy to be in the semi-finals but not in this way.”

Jodar is the fourth teenager to advance to the semifinals in Marrakech this century, while he is just the second man born in 2006 or later to reach the last four at this level alongside two-time ATP Tour titlist Joao Fonseca.

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Jodar has enjoyed a breakthrough 12 months on the Tour, climbing from outside the Top 900 to a current career-high No. 89. After breaking the Top 100 for the first time on Monday, the former University of Virginia star is now up to No. 73 in the ATP Live Rankings. The 19-year-old is the second-youngest man inside the Top 100 after Fonseca.

A three-time ATP Challenger champ in 2025, Jodar is seeking the biggest title of his career this week and will next meet Camilo Ugo Carabelli after the Argentine beat Luca Van Assche 0-6, 6-3, 6-2 to reach his fifth tour-level semifinal.

In other action, the 36-year-old Marco Trungelliti defeated third seed Corentin Moutet 4-6, 6-3, 6-4 to reach his second tour-level semifinal and first since Umag in 2018. The Argentine Trungelliti is No. 85 in the ATP Live Rankings and is set to become the oldest first-time Top 100 entrant in 50 years on Monday.

Trungelliti will play top seed Luciano Darderi in the semifinals. The Italian Darderi, who is the defending champion, advanced via a walkover after Yannick Hanfmann withdrew ahead of their quarterfinal clash due to injury.

Merida downs Mannarino, enters semis

The 21-year-old Daniel Merida arrived in the city without a tour-level victory but is now just two wins from the title at the ATP 250 event after double duty on Friday. Pics: ATP Tour

In Bucharest, Spanish qualifier Daniel Merida is a semifinalist on the ATP Tour after saving three match points against Titouan Droguet in his quarterfinal match at the Tiriac Open. The 21-year-old arrived in the city without a tour-level victory, but is now just two wins from the title at the ATP 250 event after double duty on Friday.

Merida defeated World No. 43 Adrian Mannarino 4-6, 6-2, 6-2 in second-round action on Friday morning after rain disrupted Thursday’s action, before he advanced to the last four following Droguet’s retirement. Merida led the Frenchman 4-6, 7-6(7), 3-1 when play was stopped after saving three match points in the second-set tie-break.

The 21-year-old is up 22 spots to No. 114 in the PIF ATP Live Rankings and is set to rise to a career high on Monday. Merida will next meet Fabian Marozsan after the Hungarian beat Daniel Altmaier 6-2, 7-6(5). Earlier this year, Merida lifted the ATP Challenger trophy in Tenerife.

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In the top half, eighth seed Botic van de Zandschulp moved past Damir Dzumhur 6-3, 6-3 to advance to his first tour-level semi-final since he lost in the Winston-Salem final last August. He is the second Dutchman to reach this stage in Bucharest after Robin Haase in 2014.

The No. 62 player in the PIF ATP Rankings Van de Zandschulp is now 6-1 against players ranked below him in 2026 and will play World No. 60 Mariano Navone in the semifinals.

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The Argentine Navone defeated Slovakian Alex Molcan 3-6, 6-2, 6-3 in two hours and 19 minutes. Navone is chasing his maiden ATP Tour title and is now one win away from his first final since Rio de Janeiro in February 2024.