POZNAN/STARNBERG, June 18, 2024

Pablo Carreno Busta advanced to the second round of the Enea Poznan Open by defeating the eighth-seeded Dmitry Popko from Kazakhstan 7-6(5), 7-6(4) on Tuesday.

Carreno Busta is returning to professional tennis after a hiatus of several months due to a right elbow injury. This also marks his return to the capital of Greater Poland after nine years. In 2015, the Spaniard won the ATP Challenger Tour tournament here. This means the 32-year-old from Gijon has now won six consecutive matches in Poznan.

Long time coming 🙌@pablocarreno91 picks up his first win of the year, defeating Popko in two tiebreaks to advance to Round 2 in Poznan!#ATPChallenger | @poznanopen pic.twitter.com/DqABQAFku0

— ATP Challenger Tour (@ATPChallenger) June 18, 2024

This victory is Carreno Busta’s first win of the year and it came against a solid opponent. Both sets followed a similar pattern. Popko initially led in both sets, securing early breaks, but he failed to maintain his advantage. In the opening set, the higher-ranked player was up 5-2, but Carreno Busta made a comeback, gaining confidence on the court. The set ultimately went to a tie-break, where the Spaniard managed to edge out his opponent, clinching the tie-break 7-5.

In the second set, Popko broke serve in the fifth game, again taking the lead. Both players showcased a high level of play, engaging in intense rallies that thrilled the spectators on Center Court of the Olimpia Tennis Park. However, once more, Popko was broken back when serving for the set. Carreno Busta had his first match points in the twelfth game, but the World No. 225 saved them with aggressive play. Nevertheless, in the subsequent tie-break, Carreno Busta capitalized on his fourth match point to secure the win.

With this victory, Carreno Busta has not only returned to his winning ways in Poznan but also made a successful comeback overall. This year, he has only played in the Grand Slam at Roland Garros and the ATP Challenger event in Perugia, Italy, last week. “I am very happy. This is a very important win for me after a long injury. I want to stay in this tournament as long as possible and I am grateful for the wild card. I have very good memories of Poznan,” Carreno Busta said.