With Benito Sanchez Martinez, a German tennis player caused a surprise at the M15 event in Kursumlijska Banja (Serbia). After a great fight, it was only over in the quarterfinals.
Although 22-year-old Benito Sanchez Martinez first appeared on the tour in 2017 and never ended a year with a negative record, the German did not take part in many tournaments. The 19 matches that the ITF lists in Sanchez Martinez’s CV in 2021 represent the busiest year so far. This makes the current success all the more surprising.
Sanchez Martinez made his debut in Serbia in 2024, had to start in the qualification without any points in the ATP world rankings and successfully fought his way into the main draw with three clear victories.
Here, Sanchez Martinez defeated Russian Saveliy Ivanov (number 1138 in the world rankings) in three sets in the first round, before knocking out a former top 500 player, Georgian Saba Purtseladze, in the round of 16.
The quarter-finals against Russian Marat Sharipov (number 391 in the world rankings) followed on Friday. A real yardstick in which Sanchez Martinez underlined that he could achieve greater things. In another very close match, the DTB left-hander lost by a narrow margin of 1:6, 7:6 and 5:7 despite a false start.
Kuhl chases title in Madrid
Meanwhile, Carolina Kuhl lived up to her status as favorite at the W15 tournament in Madrid. In the quarterfinals, the 19-year-old German, who is ranked 505th in the world, defeated the 15-year-old Frenchwoman Eleejah Insian (number 1114 in the world rankings) 6:1 and 7:5.
For the DTB hopeful, it was the first time in what has been a rather sobering clay court season that she was able to win three matches in a row.
Kuhl, who is seeded number one in the Spanish capital, will now face Spaniard Noelia Bouzo Zanotti (number 756 in the world rankings) in the semifinals, who in turn defeated Italian Angelica Raggi (number 925 in the world rankings) in two sets.
2024-06-14 12:24:00
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