VALENCIA, November 25, 2022
French teenager Luca van Assche has booked his spot in the semi-finals of the Copa Faulcombridge Ciudad de Valencia, an ATP Challenger Tour 80 clay-court tournament hosted by the Club de Tenis Valencia. The 18-year-old edged past Spanish qualifier Javier Barranco Cosano 6-1, 7-6(4) on a sunny Friday afternoon on the east coast of the Iberian Peninsula.
Van Assche sent down three aces and won 75 per cent of his first-service points to secure victory in two hours and 10 minutes.
“It was a very close match. I played well in the first set but didn’t in the second,” van Assche told Tennis TourTalk afterwards. “I did what I had to do, played point by point. I don’t really know what made the difference in the end but maybe I was calmer than him. He maybe played too risky towards the end.”
The World No. 200 has come to Valencia for the first time. “It is very beautiful here,” he said. “The courts are amazing and the city is great. I am enjoying my time here.”
Sieh dir diesen Beitrag auf Instagram an
Getting established at senior’s level
Van Assche was born in Paris to a Belgian father and an Italian mother. He already made headlines during his time on the Junior Circuit, where he reached a career-high World No. 1 and captured the 2021 French Open Boys’ Singles title, defeating fellow countryman Arthur Fils in the finals. Now, van Assche is trying to get established at senior’s level.
“I did a very good juniors career. It was good for me, I have gained a lot of experience. It helped me a lot for me senior’s career but I am still young. I learn every day at every tournament. I know that I have the level to compete at these tournaments and try to get closer to the top. I am still learning,” the up-and-coming player said.
“Of course for the French tennis fans, it’s amazing. The older generation with Richard Gasquet and Gael Monfils is finishing and they are waiting for new people. I try my best to become one of them but I don’t feel any pressure. I play for myself, not for others and just enjoy. I know Gilles Simon, he is in my club and we played a couple of tournaments together.”
Van Assche, who practices in Paris, had some good results in recent weeks. He finished runner-up to fellow Frenchman Gregoire Barrere at the Open Brest ATP Challenger on indoor hard court. Now, van Assche is back on the clay. “It was not too difficult to adapt. I love playing on clay. It is my favourite surface. I only played some weeks indoors and I wanted to come here before the end of the season. It’s all about the progress but I would like to crack the Top 100 next year,” he explained and will finish the 2022 season after next week’s Maia Open in Portugal.
Llamas Ruiz last Spaniard standing
First, however, he will be up in the semi-finals in Valencia facing qualifier Pablo Llamas Ruiz, who emerged victorious from the battle of the home favourites with wild card entry Carlos Lopez Montagud 6-2, 7-5 in one hour and 29 minutes.
In the top half of the draw, Nikola Milojevic rallied past Adrian Andreev from Bulgaria 0-6, 6-4, 6-4. The World No. 259 from Serbia won four points less than his rival but prevailed after two hours and 22 minutes. Milojevic will next face Oleksii Krutykh from the Ukraine, a 3-6, 6-3, 6-2 winner over Andrea Pellegrino of Italy. The encounter lasted one hour and 58 minutes.
