Martin Damm and Titouan Droguet win first ATP SF in Montpellier | ATP Tour
match report
Qualifying Damm and Droghe advance to ATP SF for the first time in Montpellier
Auger-Aliassime and Manarino also advanced
February 6, 2026
@Open Occitanie | TV sports events
Martin Dam saved his only break point against Luca Nardi in the Montpellier quarter-finals.
Written by ATP Staff
Martin Damm and Titouan Droguet both used stellar serving performances to claim landmark victories at the Occitanie Open on Friday, advancing to their first tour-level semi-finals. In two qualifying matches for the ATP 250 in Montpellier, American Dam defeated Luca Nardi 6-3, 7-6(8) and home hope Drog defeated fourth seed Talon Grikspur 7-6(5), 7-6(1).
The 22-year-old Damm saved a match point in qualifying and defeated top ten stars Hubert Hulkac and Roberto Bautista Agut in the main draw to reach the ATP Tour quarterfinals for the first time. Against Nardi, he hit 16 aces and saved the only break point he faced, according to Infosys ATP statistics.
“Today was definitely a bit nerve-wracking, a lot was at stake,” said Damm, who climbed 31 spots this week to No. 129 in the PIF ATP Live Rankings. “I knew if we played three sets, then maybe it would be a little bit tricky for me. I’m happy that I’m tall and I’m serving well, so credit to my parents!”
The 37-year-old Adrian Mannarino will next face Adrian Mannarino, who ended the winning streak of French qualifier Arthur Gea with a score of 5-7, 6-4, 6-4. Mannarino moved up 15 spots to No. 55 in the PIF ATP Live Rankings, reaching his 26th tour-level semifinal and first since February 2024 in Dallas.
Droghe also broke new ground at tour level with a stellar serving performance, blasting 21 aces against Grixpo and never facing a break point. The win over the PIF ATP Ranking No. 29 was Droghe’s second top-50 appearance, his first victory coming in a five-set clash with Lorenzo Musetti at the 2023 US Open.
“I’m not used to playing in big stadiums like this. So I try not to look up and just look at the pitch and my team to stay focused,” the Frenchman said after the win at the Estadio Patrice Dominguez.
The 24-year-old Frenchman will hope to continue the crowd’s support when he takes on top seed Felix Auger-Aliassime in Saturday’s semi-finals. Auger-Aliassime followed up his first victory over Stan Wawrinka with a 6-4, 6-2 win over sixth-seeded Arthur Fells on Friday. Like Droghe, he faced no break point.
Droghe and Auger-Aliassime will play their first Lexus ATP Head2Head event on Saturday, although the Frenchman revealed he lost 6-0 to the top seed in practice last season.
