By Richard Pagliaro Friday, February 6, 2026
Photo credit: Occitanie Open Facebook
defending champion Felix Auger-Aliassime Reached the semifinals for the 40th time in his career, while the U.S. qualifying Martin Damm Jr. Advance to the semi-finals for the first time in Montpellier.
Top seed Auger-Aliassime beats Frenchman Arthur Fells 6-4, 6-2 to return to the semi-finals in Montpellier.
Auger-Aliassime’s serve was near-perfect, hitting 12 aces, no double faults and winning 25 of 27 first-serve points, en route to 87 indoor wins since 2000, the most of any ATP player in the past decade. Auger-Aliassime dropped just four points on serve in total and held off six love breaks in a dominant match that had Fiers looking at his support box with a “what can I do” attitude.
U.S. Open semifinalist Auger-Aliassime will play in one of the matches Fourth seed Talon Grikspoor or French qualifier Titouan Droger in tomorrow’s semifinals.
America’s deadly serving left-hander Damm saved a match point in the second round of qualifying, blasting 16 aces without a double fault to defeat Italian Luca Nardi 6-3, 7-6(8).
Damm hit his 16th ace on the catwalk to seal an impressive victory in one hour and 24 minutes to secure his first ever semi-final at tour level.
Damm, ranked 160th in the world, rose to 129th in the ATP live rankings after becoming the fourth qualifier to reach the Montpellier semifinals. Damme won 36 of 39 first-serve points and saved the only break point he faced, setting the stage for a showdown between the left-handers in the semifinals. Adrian Manarino.
The 37-year-old Mannarino defeated compatriot Arthur Guia 5-7, 6-4, 6-4 to advance to the 26th tour semifinals of his career. Manarino has a career semifinal record of 15 wins and 10 losses, making this his first semifinal appearance since the 2024 Dallas Championship.
