POZOBLANCO/STARNBERG, July 18, 2026
The semi-final line-up at the Open Ciudad de Pozoblanco Covap Memorial Fabian Dorado 2026 is complete after another day of high-quality tennis at the ATP Challenger 75 event in southern Spain. Top seed Chris Rodesch of Luxemburg, Akira Santillan from Japan, Tiago Pereira of Portugal and Belarusian Ilya Ivashka all booked their places in the last four following dramatic quarterfinal victories.
Portuguese youngster Tiago Pereira ended the impressive run of Spain’s Alejo Sanchez Quilez, winning 6-4, 7-6(6). The Spaniard, appearing in the quarterfinals of an ATP Challenger for the second time in his career, improved steadily as the match progressed after dropping the opening set. He broke for a 4-2 lead in the second set before Pereira immediately hit back.
Sanchez Quilez showed remarkable resilience, saving the match when Pereira served for victory and forcing a tie-break after creating a set point of his own. However, Pereira remained composed, converting his second match point to secure his place in the semi-finals.
His opponent will be former world No. 43 Ilya Ivashka, who fought back to defeat two-time Pozoblanco doubles champion Dan Added 6-7(4), 6-1, 6-3 in a contest lasting two and a half hours.
Ivashka created seven break points in the opening set but was repeatedly denied before losing the tie-break. The Belarusian responded emphatically, dominating the second set and carrying that momentum into the decider. After both players held comfortably for much of the third set, Ivashka struck the decisive break at 4-3 before serving out the victory.
The second semi-final will feature top seed Chris Rodesch against Akira Santillan, after both players emerged from another pair of thrilling three-set encounters.
Japanese player Santillan ended the outstanding run of 18-year-old Spaniard Izan Almazan, who had already won two qualifying matches and upset eighth seed Alastair Gray earlier in the week. Almazan once again displayed his fighting spirit, recovering from an early break to force a first-set tie-break and then rallying from 5-2 down before Santillan edged it 7-5.
The Spaniard responded brilliantly in the second set, breaking twice to level the match 6-2 while Santillan briefly lost his composure and received a code violation. In the deciding set, however, the Japanese player regained control, finally breaking after Almazan had saved five break points before closing out a hard-earned 7-6(5), 2-6, 6-2 victory after two hours and 25 minutes.
Awaiting Santillan is tournament favourite Chris Rodesch, who survived yet another marathon encounter, overcoming Britain’s Oliver Crawford 5-7, 7-6(3), 7-5 in two hours and 36 minutes.
Rodesch faced his toughest challenge of the tournament, with Crawford controlling much of the early exchanges through aggressive baseline play and long rallies. After the Briton claimed the opening set, the Luxembourg player gradually shifted the momentum as fatigue began to influence the match. Crawford recovered an early break in the second set to force another tie-break, but Rodesch raced into a 4-0 lead before levelling the contest.
