European Youth Championships | 20 Jul 2024

Two Polish Players Book Their Semi-Final Places

The penultimate stage of the Under 15 Boys Singles event at the European Youth Championships in Malmö will feature an all-Polish duel between top seed Patryk ZYWORONEK and Aleks PAKULA. In the other semi-final match, Sandro CAVAILLE of France will play against Romania's Robert ISTRATE.

PAKULA, seeded ninth, beat third seed Danilo FASO from Italy (9, -10, -5, 7, 6, 7).

"I hoped before the tournament that I would get a medal, but FASO is a very difficult opponent to beat. I am a little bit shocked but very happy about this win," admitted PAKULA.

ZYWORONEK halted the progress of England's Abraham SELLADO, who is ranked 24th, winning in four games (9, 2, 6, -11, 11).

In the lower half of the draw, there were no upsets. Fourth seed CAVAILLE overcame sixth seed Francesco TREVISAN of Italy (-8, 7, 7, 4, -3, -11, 8). Sandro was on the verge of defeat after a safe 3-1 lead. TREVISAN leveled but failed to finish the job.

"I was very nervous when I started losing in the fifth game. In the last game, I found the right way to play and I'm very happy to play in the semifinal tomorrow. In the semifinal, I have to try to be calmer and not get angry when it goes against me. Today I got both a yellow and red card, and I can't afford that in my next match," said CAVAILLE.

Second seed ISTRATE prevailed against fifth seed Samuel MICHNA of Poland (4, 6, -10, 4, 6).

Abraham SELLADO had a nice run today. After overcoming Matt CLOSSET of Belgium in the round of 32 (-9, 7, -9, 11, 4, 4), he reached the quarters with a win over Dario SALCEDO of Spain (7, -9, 8, 10, 11).

In the Round of 32, Türkiye's Kenan KAHRAMAN, seeded 19th, overcame seventh seed Jan SKALDA of Czechia in six games (-9, 5, 5, 8, -7, 9).