BRAUNSCHWEIG, July 13, 2018

The top two seeds of the Sparkassen Open in Braunschweig fell in the quarterfinals of the €127,000 ATP Challenger clay-court event on Thursday. Yannick Hanfmann rallied past the tournament’s No. 2 Roberto Carballés-Baena of Spain 4-6, 6-4, 6-2.

The seventh favourite from Germany sent down six aces, winning 74 per cent of his first service points to prevail after two hours and 21 minutes. “I had to work hard for my points today but I never gave up and fought until the end,” Hanfmann was pleased afterwards. The 26-year-old Karlsruhe native is the last German standing in the singles draw.

Next up will be Andrea Arnaboldi of Italy, who benefited from the retirement of Mats Moraing leading 6-2. The World No. 156 from Germany was forced to stop playing due to a left shoulder injury.

Jozef Kovalik knocked out No. 1 seed Pablo Cuevas from Uruguay 7-6(1), 6-3. The 25-year-old from Slovakia saved seven of the nine break points he faced, converting four of his own to secure victory in one hour and 56 minutes.

Kovalik will face Arthur de Greef in the semi-finals. The World No. 254 from Belgium eased past Bolivia’s Hugo Dellien, who finished runner-up at the Marburg Open last weekend. De Greef outpointed his opponent 71-52 to advance in one hour and 17 minutes.

“I had lost against him three times in a row, so I am very happy with the win today,” de Greef said.