TROISDORF/STARNBERG, June 2, 2023
Top favourite Pavel Kotov remains the man to beat at the second edition of the Saturn Oil Open. The No. 1 seed and only seeded player left in the singles draw of the ATP Challenger Tour 75 clay-court event in Troisdorf, Germany rallied past Latvian qualifier Robert Strombachs 2-6, 6-3, 6-4 on Friday afternoon to reach the semi-finals.
Kotov sent down four aces and won 67 per cent of his first-service points to prevail after two hours and 27 minutes. The 121st-ranked Russian and winner of three ATP Challenger Tour crowns will next oppose his compatriot Ivan Gakhov. The 26-year-old Moscow native also came back from a set down to overcome qualifier Nick Hardt from the Dominican Republic 3-6, 7-6(3), 7-6(4). The encounter lasted two hours and 53 minutes.
Absolutely stunning forehand 💪
Ivan Gakhov comes back to defeat Hardt 3-6, 7-6(3), 7-6(4) and reach the semifinals in Troisdorf!#ATPChallenger | @Samurai_GI pic.twitter.com/X7fKAfG106
— ATP Challenger Tour (@ATPChallenger) June 2, 2023
In the bottom half of the draw, Indian lucky loser Sumit Nagal continued his fine run of form with a 6-1, 1-6, 6-4 win over Oleksii Krutykh of the Ukraine to reach his third semi-final of the season. The World No. 254 capitalized on four of his 12 break-point opportunities to secure victory in one hour and 56 minutes.
Up next for Nagal will be Frederico Ferreira Silva. The 28-year-old Portuguese defeated Renzo Olivo from Argentina 6-3, 6-2. Ferreira Silva won 58 per cent of the total points played to advance in one hour and 39 minutes.
“I have definitely identified him as one of the top contenders for the title,” tournament organiser Marc Raffel commented on the strong performance of the Portuguese.
