Qualifier Daniel Merida saves 3 MPs to win first SF in Bucharest | ATP Tour
match report
Qualifier Merida saves 3 MPs to advance to SF for first time in Bucharest
Navone, Van de Zandschulp advance to ATP 250
April 3, 2026
ATP 250 Tiriac Open
Daniel Merida saved match points against Otto Virtanen and Titou Androga this week.
Sam Jacott
Spanish qualifier Daniel Merida saved three match points against Titouan Droguet in the quarter-finals of the Tiriac Open presented by UniCredit Bank to reach the ATP Tour semi-finals.
The 21-year-old arrived in Bucharest without a tour-level victory but is now just two wins away from the ATP 250 title after pulling off double duty on Friday.
With rain disrupting Thursday’s action, Merida beat world No. 43 Adrian Manarino 4-6, 6-2, 6-2 in the second round on Friday morning before advancing to the last four after Droger retired.
Merida led the French 4-6, 7-6(7), 3-1 after saving three match points in the second-set tiebreaker.
“I feel great,” Merida said in an on-court interview. “It was a very intense match and the end of the second set was crazy, saving three match points. I think that’s the point that changed the game. I’m very happy to get the win. I loved fighting until the last point.”
The 21-year-old has moved up 22 spots to No. 114 in the PIF ATP Live Rankings and will reach a new career high on Monday. Merida will next face Hungarian Fabian Marossan, who defeated Daniel Altmaier 6-2, 7-6(5). Earlier this year, Merida lifted the ATP Challenger Trophy in Tenerife.
In the top half, eighth-seeded Botik van der Zandschulp defeated Damir Zuhur 6-3, 6-3 to advance to the tour-level semifinals for the first time since losing in the Winston-Salem final last August. He is the second Dutchman to reach this stage in Bucharest after Robin Haase in 2014.
The PIF ATP Ranking No. 62 Van der Zandschulp currently has a 6-1 record against players ranked below him in 2026 and will face World No. 60 Mariano Navone in the semifinals.
Argentina’s Navone defeated Slovakia’s Alex Molkan 3-6, 6-2, 6-3 in 2 hours and 19 minutes. Navone is chasing his first ATP Tour title and is now just one win away from his first final since Rio de Janeiro in February 2024.
