Lucky Loser Kovacevic and Paul Power Into Hamburg Semifinals

By Richard Pagliaro | Thursday, May 21, 2026
Photo credit: Bitpanda Hamburg Open

Aleksandr Kovacevic lost a match point in the second set and felt he was losing his legs in the third.

Lucky loser Kovacevic never squandered sheer desire.

Digging deep, Kovacevic fought off Camilo Ugo Carabelli 6-4, 6-7(10), 6-2 to reach his biggest career semifinal on the red clay of the ATP 500 Hamburg Open.

Kovacevic is the second lucky loser in tournament history to reach the semifinals, after Leonardo Mayer, who did it in 2017.

After Kovacevic squandered a 5-2 lead and a match point at 7-6 in the tiebreaker, Carabelli came back strong to force a final set.

Kovacevic conceded he didn’t “love my chances” given the missed match point and his screaming legs against the sturdy Argentinean.

“It was less about the one match point, I think I was up 5-2 in the tiebreak had a forehand sitter, a routine sitter, and [if I made it] now I’d have four match points,” Kovacevic said. “I miss that forehand, don’t play great, just kind of quickly went off the edge.

“I was a little nervous. I thought my legs might have been going a little bit. I didn’t love my chances coming out of the bathroom break, but [as a] lucky loser nothing you can do but play as well as you can in the third set.”

Resetting, Kovacevic saved a break point holding to start the final set.

Firing his forehand with ambition, Kovacevic charged through 12 of 14 points tearing out to a 4-1 lead. Kovacevic cracked 41 winners, 14 more than Carabelli in reaching his fifth Tour-level semifinal.
World No. 94 Kovacevic, who stunned No. 5 Felix Auger-Aliassime in the second round for his best career victory, achieved a milestone in Hamburg.

Kovacevic, who rises to No. 67 in the rankings, joins compatriot Tommy Paul as the second American into the final four.

The friends and practice partners are the first Americans to reach the Hamburg Open final four since former world No. 1 Pete Sampras back in 1995.

Paul broke six times in a 6-2, 7-5 quarterfinal victory over Daniel Altmaier. The win comes four days after Paul celebrated his 29th birthday.

The sixth-seeded Paul, who saved seven match points rallying past Tomás Martín Etcheverry in round two, reached his 22nd Tour-level semifinal.

Now, the American buddies are hoping to stage a friendly reunion in the Hamburg final ahead of sharing personal celebration. Kovacevic plays 57th-ranked Ignacio Buse for a spot in Saturday’s final. Qualifier Buse, the first Peruvian man to reach the Hamburg final four in the Open Era, defeated French left-hander Ugo Humbert 6-3, 5-7, 6-3.

“We’re really good friends,” Kovacevic said of Paul. “I’m going to his wedding in a couple of months.

“I hope to see him int he final. We train together in Boca Raton, Florida. He’s a super good buddy of mine. Just happy to be here and be in the semifinals.”

It’s the fourth semifinal of the season for Paul, who will play third-seeded Alex de Minaur or seventh-seeded Luciano Darderi for a spot in Saturday’s final.

1995. Paul, who saved 7 MPs vs. Etcheverry in 2R, takes on Daniel Altmaier, who is looking to earn back-to
      back Top 30 wins for the first time in career after defeating No. 6 Shelton in 2R.