It was an exciting day at the BNP Paribas Fortis European Open, as both top seeds were in action. World No. 8 Lorenzo Musetti defeated Germany’s Yannick Hanfmann (ATP-139), while former champion Félix Auger-Aliassime (ATP-13) came through a thrilling three-set battle against Bosnia’s Damir Dzumhur (ATP-67) to reach the quarter-finals.
Attention now turns to Friday, when Raphaël Collignon (ATP-90) will play the final match of the day, facing fourth seed Alejandro Davidovich Fokina (ATP-20) from Spain in his quarter-final. In the doubles competition, all Belgian players have now been eliminated.
All eyes were on Lorenzo Musetti (ATP-8) today, a well-established name on the international tennis scene and the tournament’s top seed. The Italian, a semi-finalist this year at Roland Garros and a quarter-finalist at the US Open, was aiming for his tenth quarter-final of the season here in Brussels. In his opening match, he faced German qualifier Yannick Hanfmann (ATP-139).
Known for his elegant style and silky one-handed backhand, Musetti took control early in the match.
However, Hanfmann refused to give in easily. The German, who had never beaten a top-10 player on hard court, showed great resistance and managed to push the first set into a tie-break. Musetti’s experience made the difference as he took the opener 7-6.
The second set followed a similar pattern, offering plenty of entertainment for the crowd. The 23-year-old Italian produced moments of brilliance, while Hanfmann defended bravely and found success at the net. At 5-5, the 33-year-old German cracked under pressure, hitting a crucial forehand into the net. Musetti held serve to close out the match and now prepares for a quarter-final clash with French powerhouse Giovanni Mpetshi Perricard (ATP-37).
Lorenzo Musetti (ATP-8): “This isn’t the surface that suits my game best, so it was important to serve well, and we both did. I’m trying to stay very focused. I’m a bit tired, but already looking forward to tomorrow’s match.”
Auger-Aliassime survives a thriller
Earlier in the day, second seed Félix Auger-Aliassime (ATP-13) also made his debut in Brussels. The 2022 champion has been in excellent form in recent weeks. A place in the quarter-finals marks his fourth consecutive appearance at that stage, highlighted by a semi-final run at the US Open. He faced the experienced Bosnian Damir Dzumhur (ATP-67).
Dzumhur, a former world No. 23, showed from the start that he was not going to give up easily. In a tense first set, Auger-Aliassime had to fight hard but edged it in a tie-break, 7-6 (3). The second set followed the same pattern, with Dzumhur defending well and taking advantage of his chances to level the match 6-4. The decisive third set remained extremely close.
Auger-Aliassime impressed with his powerful serve, hitting 21 aces, but Dzumhur kept coming back.
Once again, a tie-break was needed, and this time the Canadian prevailed 7-6 (5). After a true thriller, Auger-Aliassime secured his place in the quarter-finals.
Félix Auger-Aliassime (ATP-13): “It was an intense match against a strong opponent. He made very few mistakes, so I had to stay sharp on the important points. I’m very happy to be back here and I really want to thank the crowd for their amazing support today.”
Doubles: end of the road for the Belgians
There was plenty of atmosphere on Court 1 today, where several Belgians were in doubles action.
Alexander Blockx and Tibo Colson faced the Brazilian pair Rafael Matos and Marcelo Melo. Both Belgians, already out of the singles draw, showed great energy and team spirit, but conceded an early break in the second game – a deficit they couldn’t recover from. The first set went to the Brazilians, 2-6.
The second set was more balanced, with both pairs holding serve to reach a tie-break. Matos and Melo, clearly the more experienced team, took control early and sealed the win 2-6, 6-7. For Blockx and Colson, the tournament ends here.
Later in the day, Belgian doubles specialist Joran Vliegen teamed up with his Uruguayan partner Ariel Behar to take on the French-Monégasque duo Édouard Roger-Vasselin and Hugo Nys. Vliegen, who had eliminated his Davis Cup partner Sander Gillé in the previous round, was eager to progress further. Despite a close contest, the Belgian-Uruguayan pair couldn’t overturn an early break and fell 6-4, 6-4. With this result, all Belgian players have now exited the doubles draw.
Friday 17 October: spotlight on Collignon
On Friday, all eyes will be on Raphaël Collignon (ATP-90), who will contest his quarter-final against fourth seed Alejandro Davidovich Fokina (ATP-20) in the final match of the day.
The schedule also features several exciting encounters: Top seed Lorenzo Musetti (ATP-8) will face France’s Giovanni Mpetshi Perricard (ATP-37).
Second seed Félix Auger-Aliassime (ATP-13) will play the winner of Botic van de Zandschulp (ATP-86, Netherlands) vs Eliot Spizzirri (ATP-111, USA).
Last year’s finalist Jiri Lehecka (ATP-17) will take on Frenchman Benjamin Bonzi (ATP-53).
About Tennium
Tennium is a global platform with diverse business activities, specializing in tennis. The company’s mission is to bring together different segments of the tennis world, integrating multiple business models within a single network.
Tennium’s activities include organizing tennis tournaments, managing licenses, player management, corporate events, and consultancy.
Headquartered in Barcelona, with offices in Argentina, Belgium, Germany, France, Italy, and Dubai, Tennium was founded by Belgian Kristoff Puelinckx and former French tennis player Sébastien Grosjean.
Tennium organizes some of the largest tennis tournaments in the world, including the Davis Cup and Billie Jean King Cup 2024, the Hamburg Open and Barcelona Open (both ATP 500), and the BNP Paribas Fortis European Open (ATP 250). In addition, Tennium is active on the WTA Tour, with events in Europe and South America, such as the WTA 125 Valencia International Open and the Argentina Open.
For more information, please visit: tennium.com
About BNP Paribas and Tennis
BNP Paribas shares its love of tennis with enthusiasts through a historic commitment that began in 1973 and applies to all levels of tennis worldwide, from tennis clubs to tournaments featuring the greatest players. BNP Paribas is notably the official sponsor of Roland-Garros since 1973, and also sponsors three ATP Masters 1000 tournaments (BNP Paribas Open in Indian Wells, Rolex Monte Carlo Masters, and Internazionali BNL d’Italia in Rome), as well as the Open 13 Provence in Marseille, the Open de Moselle in Metz, the BNP Paribas Nordic Open in Stockholm (ATP250), and the Internationaux de Strasbourg (WTA500), along with numerous other wheelchair and secondary professional circuit tournaments.
The diversity of BNP Paribas’ commitments testifies to the group’s passion for tennis, a story that has been constantly strengthened for over 50 years.
BNP Paribas accompanies over 160 young tennis and handi-tennis hopefuls in building their careers, as part of its “Team BNP Paribas Young Talents” program in France (under the patronage of Jo-Wilfried Tsonga in association with the FFT), in the United States (with John and Patrick McEnroe), in Belgium (under the patronage of Justine Henin), as well as in Italy, Poland, Canada, Japan, and Portugal.
BNP Paribas is the creator and accelerator of social projects related to tennis, alongside over 20 national tennis federations and dozens of charitable associations.
Beyond supporting players, BNP Paribas created the We Are Tennis platform in 2011 to allow fans to live their passion more intensely. This media, which today brings together over 2 million fans worldwide, enables a genuine connection with this community.
