OEIRAS/STARNBERG, January 30, 2026
Frederico Ferreira Silva booked his place in the semifinals of the Indoor Oeiras Open 2 and will be the only Portuguese player in action during the decisive weekend of the second ATP Challenger event organized by the Portuguese Tennis Federation at the Jamor Tennis Complex in Oeiras.
The first home player to take the court on Friday, Ferreira Silva celebrated his third victory of the week by defeating Russia’s Ivan Gakhov 6–3, 6–4 in 93 minutes.
Competing “at home,” the 30-year-old from Caldas da Rainha reached the Challenger semifinals in Portugal for the second time in his career. In his post-match press conference, Silva highlighted the importance of a strong start against an opponent he knew well.
Gakhov had won their previous two encounters, including a Challenger final in Troisdorf in 2023, but Friday’s result saw Ferreira Silva take the lead in their head-to-head series for the first time.
Que maravilha! Frederico Silva apura-se pela segunda vez para uma meia-final Challenger em Portugal ao vencer Ivan Gakhov por 6-3 e 6-4 aqui no Indoor Oeiras Open.
Ainda persegue o primeiro título a este nível e que bonito seria fazê-lo aqui “em casa” a começar o ano. pic.twitter.com/hMuGXsOIff
— Gaspar Ribeiro Lança (@gasparlanca) January 30, 2026
“I’m very pleased with the match and with the fact that I managed to win in two sets,” Ferreira Silva said. “It was important because today I wasn’t as fresh as I was before the match against Gaubas, and it was good not to put extra strain on my body ahead of tomorrow.”
The World No. 265 explained that his game plan was to take control of the rallies against a physically imposing opponent. “He’s a big player with a lot of power, and when he takes charge of the point with his forehand he can be very dangerous,” he noted, also pointing to the quality of his own forehand as a key factor in forcing movement and securing a place in the semifinals.
On Saturday, Ferreira Silva will battle for a spot in the fifth ATP Challenger final of his career against Estonia’s Daniil Glinka . The Wold No. 200 earned back-to-back semifinal appearances at Jamor by edging Spain’s Pablo Llamas Ruiz 6–2, 3–6, 7–6(5).
The second semifinal will see Luxembourg’s Chris Rodesch face Canada’s Alexis Galarneau. Rodesch, the champion of last week’s Indoor Oeiras Open, continued his strong run with a 6–4, 6–4 win over Spanish qualifier Inaki Montes de la Torre.
Galarneau, a two-time semifinalist at the Indoor Oeiras Open in 2025, ended the campaign of Portugal’s No. 2 Jaime Faria, defeating him 7–5, 7–6(4). Despite arriving from Melbourne after an impressive Australian Open and preparing to travel to Guangzhou with Portugal’s Davis Cup team, Faria created five set points on the Canadian’s serve in the second set but was unable to convert, leaving the tournament without any seeded players remaining.
