Preview ATP ABN AMRO Open 2026 Semi-Finals | Felix Auger-Aliassime battles Bublik as De Minaur aims for third Rotterdam final

The ATP 500 ABN AMRO Rotterdam Open reaches its semi-final stage to be played this Saturday, with the three main favourites still in competition and a surprise at this stage of the tournament seeking their place in the final. Alex de Minaur – finalist in the last two editions – will face the unseeded Ugo Humbert, who is aiming to reach his second final of the season.

The second semi-final clash will feature the second and third seeds facing each other: Felix Auger-Aliassime and Alexander Bublik, two players who have been on fire since the end of 2025 and who already had a couple of encounters during 2025 – including the semi-finals of the Paris Masters.

World No. 8 Alex de Minaur maintains the consistency of the last couple of years at this start of 2026, where he has recorded nine wins in his last ten appearances. The Australian had to come back from a set down in the quarter-finals against Botic van de Zandschulp but showed resilience to pull ahead in complicated moments and eventually claim a hard-fought victory.

In the last 52 weeks, De Minaur has reached the semi-finals of a tournament five times, and only advanced to the final in one of them. In terms of the season so far, De Minaur stands fifth in the Race – only behind the four Australian Open semi-finalists (Carlos Alcaraz, Novak Djokovic, Alexander Zverev and Jannik Sinner). The Australian seeks to take leadership of the chasing positions and stay close to the top-5, a position he could reach in the coming weeks as everything tightens inside the top-10.

He will face the surprising Humbert, who already played a final this season at the beginning of the year at the Adelaide International (loss to Tomas Machac) and who will look to deliver a surprise against De Minaur this Saturday. The Frenchman knocked out fourth seed Daniil Medvedev in the first round and has maintained consistency in his following matches to move firmly into the semi-finals.

Humbert and De Minaur have faced each other on seven occasions, with five victories for the Australian – the most recent in the ’s-Hertogenbosch semi-finals back in 2024 – a tournament where De Minaur finished as runner-up, losing the final to Jannik Sinner.

Second seed Felix Auger-Aliassime carries a streak of seven consecutive victories since he retired through injury at the Australian Open. The Canadian secured the title at the Open Occitanie a week ago and this time has already settled into the semi-finals. In his seven straight wins, he has conceded only one set, and that came in a tie-break in the Occitanie semi-finals against Titouan Droguet.

Auger-Aliassime is the only former champion remaining in the draw, after lifting the trophy in 2022 – defeating Stefanos Tsitsipas in the final – and he also reached the final in 2020, falling to Frenchman Gaël Monfils. In any case, the Canadian’s strong form has him as No. 6 in the ATP Ranking and with chances of returning to the top-5 sooner rather than later.

He will face an especially complicated rival in Alexander Bublik, who maintains the notable consistency he has shown over the past year and has demonstrated that his entry into the top-10 was more than deserved. This week he has survived three three-set battles – including a miraculous victory over Hubert Hurkacz, and the quarter-final win against Jaume Munar, decided in a third-set tie-break. In any case, the Kazakh has shown that in complicated moments he can keep his composure, and against Auger-Aliassime he will go with the mission of reaching his second final of the season.

Two players who in barely a month and a half of competition already have a title and who have been among the most consistent in terms of victories since mid-2025. The head-to-head is led by Auger-Aliassime 4-2 (2-1 in indoor hardcourt tournaments). Back in 2025 they faced each other twice: Dubai at the start of the year (victory for Felix in three sets) and the semi-finals of the Paris Masters – just like on this occasion, on indoor hardcourts – with a straight-sets win for the Canadian.

It will be a chance for revenge for Bublik, who holds a notable record of five titles in the last 52 weeks – tied with Jannik Sinner and only behind Carlos Alcaraz.