European Youth Championships | 20 Jul 2024

Leon BENKO Seals the Thriller to Reach His Medal

In tomorrow's Under 19 Boys Singles event semi-final, No. 1 seed Darius MOVILEANU of Romania will face Leon BENKO of Croatia. In the other semi-final, another Romanian, Andrei ISTRATE, will clash with Flavien COTON of France.

MOVILEANU overcame Hungary's David SZANTOSI in five games (7, 9, -5, 13, 6). Last year's Doubles Champion, Andrei ISTRATE, beat Daniel BERZOSA of Spain (8, -11, -7, 5, 5, 4).

Antoine Jean Christian NOIRAULT of France recovered from 0-3 to level the match against Leon BENKO. At 9-9 in the seventh game, BENKO sealed the duel (9, 8, 3, -9, -6, -6, 9).

“I was under severe pressure; I was leading 3:0 and he came back. In the deciding set, I was down 5:8 and managed to win 11-9. Now I am so happy because it is my first medal in European Championships. I am very happy because my coach and I prepared very much for this,” said BENKO.

Flavien COTON overcame Andre BERTELSMEIER of Germany (6, 10, -5, -9, 11, -7, 4). Coton remarked, “It was a really tough match. It was late in the evening and my opponent played strong. He changed tactics after 0-2, but I came back and found my best play. I look forward to the semifinal, and I beat him last time.”

The Round of 32 in the Under 19 Boys Singles event was shattered with surprises. Notable names exited early, including No. 4 seed Mateusz ZALEWSKI of Poland, who lost to Austria's Zhenlong LIU in five games (7, -11, 6, 6, 6). No. 8 seed Tom CLOSSET of Belgium also finished his journey earlier than expected, losing to Rafael KONG of Portugal in six games (-11, 10, 6, -9, 7, 6). No. 10 seed Samuel ARPAS of Slovakia lost to Croatia's Borna PETEK in straight games (10, 8, 7, 4). No. 12 seed Gabrielius CAMARA of the Netherlands lost to No. 21 seed Connor GREEN of England in a full seven-game thriller (5, 7, -8, 7, -5, -12, 9).