Kazakhstan's Alexander Shevchenko (world No. 100) reached the semifinal of an ATP tournament for the second time in his career, but lost to Greece's Stefanos Tsitsipas in the battle for a spot in the final of the Swiss Open Gstaad-2026. The match ended 4-6, 6-3, 3-6, reports the website infohub.kz.

The highest-altitude ATP tournament in Europe, held at 1,050 meters above sea level, holds special significance for Kazakhs. Last year, Alexander Bublik won it in style. However, Kazakhstan's top-ranked player and world No. 11 failed to defend his title due to weather interruptions. His match against Frenchman Quentin Halys (world No. 90) stretched over two days due to rain. In the end, luck deserted Bublik as he lost 7-6 (7-4), 4-6, 6-7 (5-7).

Later that same tough day, Alexander Shevchenko stepped up for his compatriot, defeating Halys 7-6 (7-5), 6-3.

Interestingly, en route to victory in last year's Gstaad tournament, Bublik beat Shevchenko 6-2, 6-3. Halys prevented a new Kazakh derby, but a Kazakh tennis representative still made it to the decisive stages.

The 25-year-old native of Rostov, who has been representing Kazakhstan since 2024, had previously reached an ATP semifinal only once—in Metz in 2023, when he was still a Russian. He went all the way to the final that time, where he lost to Frenchman Hugo Humbert 3-6, 3-6.

Stefanos Tsitsipas, by contrast, has far more experience: a 14-time ATP title winner, finalist at Roland Garros 2021 and the Australian Open 2023, and a former world No. 3 (2021). The favorite for the semifinal was clear.

The first set seemed to confirm the pecking order. The tall (1.93 m) Greek lost only one point in five service games. In the sixth game, Tsitsipas broke his opponent's serve to take it 6-4.

After losing the set, Shevchenko did not lose heart. He persistently looked for answers to his opponent's game. Serving steadily, the Kazakh capitalized on Tsitsipas's errors to break in the fourth game, then held serve to take the set 6-3.

In the deciding set, Shevchenko held serve until the seventh game, but Tsitsipas's experience then told as he won three consecutive games. Final score: 6-4, 3-6, 6-3. The match lasted 1 hour 51 minutes. Aces were even at 4-4, with total points won 83-72 in Tsitsipas's favor.

The Swiss Open Gstaad, Switzerland's national tennis championships, has been held since 1915. Until 1967 it took place in various cities, but from 1968 it settled in Gstaad, a popular ski resort in the Swiss Alps. Since 2009, the tournament has been an ATP-250 event. The total prize money is €612,500. Over the years, winners have included such stars as Switzerland's Roger Federer, Russia's Yevgeny Kafelnikov, Sweden's Stefan Edberg, Argentina's Guillermo Vilas, and others.