BRAUNSCHWEIG, July 11, 2019

Tobias Kamke, last German player standing in the Sparkassen Open singles draw, will play his first semi-final on the ATP Challenger Tour since October in Tashkent, Uzbekistan last year. The World No. 266 rallied past from a set down to overcome Attila Balazs of Hungary 1-6, 6-4, 6-4 on Thursday afternoon in Braunschweig.

Kamke won 10 points less than his opponent but had a strong finish to secure victory in just under two hours of play.

“It was a match with many ups and downs. In the beginning my game plan did not work then I switched and was able to fight back,” Kamke said.

The 33-year-old German, who won eight ATP Challenger career trophies, will next take on Javier Barranco Cosano. The ITF-entry from Spain defeated Jozef Kovalik of Slovakia 7-6(5), 7-6(5). Barranco Cosano outpointed his rival 95-93 after two hours and 20 minutes. The left-hander from Almería will appear in the stage of the final four at Challenger level for the first time.

Later in the day, Thiago Monteiro knocked out top seeded Norwegian Caspar Ruud, winning 6-4, 6-7(7), 6-3 in the longest match of the day. The 25-year-old Brazilian broke serve five times to prevail after two hours and 52 minutes. Next up for Monteiro will be Henri Laaksonen. The No. 3 seed from Switzerland fought past Czech veteran Lukas Rosol 7-6(4), 6-7(4), 6-3. The encounter lasted two hours and 22 minutes.