BRAGA/STARNBERG, September 29, 2023

The run of local wild card entry Jaime Faria ended in the quarterfinals of the Braga Open. The 20-year-old Portuguese lost to Spanish qualifier Oriol Roca Batalla 6-4, 6-1 in one hour and 27 minutes on Friday.

“This week gives me confidence because I believe I can win more and more matches at this level,” said Faria, who has reached the stage of the final eight at an ATP Challenger Tour event for the first time.

“It makes me want to work even harder because this is where I want to be, and even higher. Today, a bit of experience was lacking, but it was a good week, and I have to look forward positively and put my head in the right place because I’m already playing in Lisbon on Sunday.”

Roca Batalla will next take on Benjamin Hassan from Lebanon, who knocked out No. 4 seed Pablo Llamas Ruiz of Spain 7-6(1), 6-0 in one hour and 35 minutes.

In the top half of the draw, Mate Valkusz from Hungary defeated sixth-seeded Frenchman Titouan Droguet 7-6(12), 6-3 in one hour and 41 minutes. The 25-year-old from Budapest will play Duje Ajdukovic of Croatia in the semi-finals. The 22-year-old Split native beat Geoffrey Blancaneaux of France 6-4, 6-2. The encounter lasted one hour and 36 minutes.

The #BragaOpen @ATPChallenger semi-finals are set:

🇭🇺 Mate Valkusz vs. 🇭🇷 Duje Ajdukovic
🇱🇧 Benjamin Hassan vs. 🇪🇸 Oriol Roca Batalla pic.twitter.com/yIztRbwxn8

— Gaspar Ribeiro Lança (@gasparlanca) September 29, 2023