Alex de Minaur has given himself a timely form boost by roaring back to the semifinals of the same Dutch grasscourt tournament he won two years ago.
Following a third-round exit to eventual semifinalist Jakub Mensik at Roland Garros, De Minaur entered the ATP 250 tournament in s-Hertogenbosch as the No.2 seed.
And the Australian No.1 is finding his groove on preferred grass. I
n his second match at the tournament he claimed in 2024, De Minaur easily saw off French qualifier Benjamin Bonzi 6-2, 6-4 to reach the last four in 68 minutes.
It followed De Minaur's battle to overcome young American qualifier Martin Damm in a hard-fought round-of-16 encounter earlier in the week.
"I would be very happy if I can maintain this level," said De Minaur, who saved the only breakpoint he faced and converted four of his own against the 99th-ranked Bonzi.
"It was a very good match today. A lot of confidence because I felt very good out here, and hopefully I can bring the same level tomorrow.
"I think today was a very, very good match by me. I had to play at an extremely high level to beat someone like Benjamin. He's a very good player on this surface. He's a hell of a competitor."
De Minaur, who won the ATP 500 trophy in Rotterdam in February, still has a chance to become just the second player - after local hero and former Wimbledon champion Richard Krajicek in 1997 - to win both Dutch ATP tour titles in the same season.
But first the 27-year-old must overcome another former winner in Frenchman Adrian Mannarino, who edged past China's No.1 Zhizhen Zhang to book his last-four spot.
Head-to-head, De Minaur leads the Parisian 4-1, but on grass they are tied 1-1, so it promises to be a far tougher test.
Ajla Tomljanovic also remains in contention at the WTA tournament in the Dutch city.
Following a three-set win over Dayana Yastrzemska to reach the quarterfinals, Tomljanovic held a record 6-4 4-1 lead over Caty McNally before their quarterfinal was interrupted by rain.
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