The top favorites did not show any weakness on Friday: Daniil Medvedev had to fight against his compatriot and friend Karen Khachanov, but won again in three sets as he did in the round of 16 against Grigor Dimitrov. Thus, Medvedev has the chance to successfully defend a title for the first time in his career.

Standing in his way is Stefanos Tsitsipas. The Greek prevailed in two hard-fought sets against Croatian wildcard player Borna Gojo. "I always believed in myself and kept fighting. In the tiebreak, I left everything on the court," Tsitsipas explained after the match. The task now awaiting him could hardly be bigger: "We have had many, difficult matches against each other," the Greek explained. "I have to be well prepared. It will be a challenging match physically and mentally."

Rublev - Sinner second semifinal

Andrey Rublev and Jannik Sinner will meet in the second semifinal. Rublev prevailed in the duel of two former Erste Bank Open winners in three sets 6-1, 6-7 (5), 6-3 against Alexander Zervev. Rublev clearly dominated the first set, but things got much tighter in the second and Zverev managed to keep the upper hand in the tiebreak. In the deciding set, however, the momentum once again turned in Rublev's favor.

In the last match of the day, Jannik Sinner dispatched US crowd favorite Francers Tiafoe 6-3, 6-4 and will battle Rublev on Saturday for the seconds spot in the finals.