AUGSBURG, August 27, 2026
Another day of perfect tennis weather provided ideal conditions for the quarterfinals at the €56,700 Schwaben Open by Great2Stay at TC Augsburg on Thursday. Benito Sanchez Martinez, who entered the ATP Challenger 50 through qualifying, continued his impressive run with a convincing straight-set victory to reach his first Challenger semifinal.
In the opening match on Centre Court, Sanchez Martinez (ATP No. 1,244), who had also reached the quarterfinals from qualifying at last year’s tournament, faced sixth-seeded Czech Hynek Barton (ATP No. 271). Barton won the International German Junior Championships in Bamberg in 2022, but it was Sanchez Martinez who dictated the early rallies with his clean and precise groundstrokes. The 24-year-old Berlin native missed his first three break-point opportunities before finally converting his fourth in the fifth game. From there, he remained solid on serve and closed out the opening set with a service winner.
The second set remained balanced early on before the decisive phase arrived midway through the set. Barton, 22, created two break points, but Sanchez Martinez fended them off to hold serve. The Berlin native then earned three consecutive break opportunities and converted the second to move ahead. He continued to hold comfortably and sealed the 6-4, 6-3 victory on his first match point after 83 minutes.
In his on-court interview, the defending doubles champion admitted he was almost lost for words after reaching the semifinals at just his sixth Challenger appearance.
“I’m almost a little speechless to have reached the semifinals here at only my sixth Challenger. I think I played my best match of the tournament today, and I also had a little bit of luck in some of the close points.”
Mena ends Masur’s run
Sanchez Martinez’s SCC Berlin teammate Daniel Masur (ATP No. 392) was hoping to make it also to the semifinal, but Facundo Mena (ATP No. 345) had other ideas. The 33-year-old Argentine had already eliminated two German players, Max Rehberg and Kai Wehnelt, on his way to the quarterfinals.
The opening set featured intense rallies, with both players initially holding their serves. Masur, 31, increasingly found himself under pressure on serve, although he managed to save two break points to force a tiebreak. Mena continued to serve impressively, however, and won the final four points in a row to take the opening set.
The Argentine veteran maintained his high level in the second set and remained virtually untouchable on serve. After Masur held his opening service game, Mena took complete control and did not surrender another game. He eventually converted his second match point to complete a 7-6(3), 6-1 victory.
Cretu gets revenge against Moeller
Marvin Moeller (ATP No. 274) was once again given the Centre Court spotlight in the Siebentischwald, featuring in the “Match of the Day” for the third time this week. His opponent, fifth-seeded Romanian Cezar Cretu (ATP No. 289), was looking for revenge after Moeller had defeated him in the opening round of the Hamburg Ladies & Gents Cup less than two weeks ago on his way to the final.
Cretu made the perfect start, immediately breaking Moeller’s serve. The 27-year-old Hamburg native responded with a re-break and then created two more break points, but could not convert them. Under increasing pressure from Cretu’s powerful groundstrokes, Möller had to cover a lot of ground and eventually dropped serve again at 4-5 to hand his opponent the opening set.
Moeller tried to take the ball earlier in the second set and put more pressure on his 25-year-old opponent. However, the more aggressive approach also brought a few more errors, and an early break left him chasing the set. Cretu continued to serve consistently and never allowed Moeller back into the match, sealing a 6-4, 6-3 victory after 94 minutes.
Signed ✍️ Sealed ✉️ Delivered 📮
Cezar Cretu brushes past Moeller 6-4, 6-3 to reach his third Challenger semi-final of the season #ATPChallenger | 🇩🇪 Augsburg pic.twitter.com/igEgqtM9hh
— ATP Challenger (@ATPChallenger) August 27, 2026
Kopp advances as Krumich struggles physically
Cretu will face eighth-seeded Austrian Sandro Kopp (ATP No. 292) in the semifinals. Kopp initially had to win over the home crowd in his quarterfinal against Martin Krumich (ATP No. 262), who has been part of TC Augsburg’s Bundesliga squad for the past three years and played a key role in the club’s return to the German top flight last season.
Krumich, however, was still struggling physically and was unable to find his rhythm in the opening set, which Kopp won comfortably. The 23-year-old Czech fought back in the second set and managed to hold his serve for a long time. But Kopp finally broke in the tenth game to complete a 6-2, 6-4 victory after 81 minutes.
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