Pablo Carreno Busta in Marbella: "It's wonderful to play in front of an audience again"
"Se habla español" - a statement that may not apply to every beach hut on the Costa del Sol, but was the motto on the semifinals Saturday at the AnyTech365 Andalucia Open.
by Florian Heer from Marbella
last edit: Apr 10, 2021, 11:45 pm
Four local heroes competed in the semifinals of the Spanish Festival at the Estadio Manolo Santana in Marbella. For the first time in 17 years, four players from the same country formed the field of semi-finals. Back then, too, it was a quartet from Spain who succeeded in this feat. The names in Valencia at that time were: Fernando Verdasco, Albert Montanes, Alberto Martin and Juan Carlos Ferrero.
After a rainy start to the day, the sun returned to the Mediterranean coast in Andalusia almost in time for the start of the matches. The top seeded Pablo Carreno Busta defeated Albert Ramos-Vinolas , number 4 of the ATP 250 event, 6: 1, 3: 6, 7: 6 (5).
“It was really tight. I don't know what happened in the second set, "said Carreno Busta after the game." At the beginning of the match I was very focused and my game was aggressive. After that Albert began to push me back more and I couldn't quite reach my level of play. But I kept fighting. It was wonderful to play in front of an audience again. Something that I missed a lot in the past year. "
Munar stops Alcaraz
Jaume Munar then finished the run of 17-year-old Carlos Alcaraz, who played his first semi-final on the ATP tour. The number 95 in the ATP world rankings underlined his rising form curve in an entertaining match, which he won 7: 6 (4), 6: 4.
“It was a great week. Very positive. I played great matches and learned a lot, "said Alcaraz, who will turn 18 in May, with composure." Now I want to continue to work well, play at a good level and learn from these matches. I want to stay the way I do I am and continue to have fun on my way. "
Munar, finalist at the ATP Challenger event at the same place last Sunday, will play his first tour-level final. "I am very happy. I've been working hard over the past few months, ”said Munar, who played his ninth straight match in Marbella. “To contest a final here is a gift. Marbella is one of my favorite places. I'm thrilled and looking forward to the title match. "
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Carreno Busta and Munar will meet for the first time. "It will be a difficult match," said the Mallorcan, looking ahead to the duel with the number 1 on the seeding list. “It will be similar to the one against Carlos, but of course Pablo is much more experienced. He has won several titles in the past few years and is still one of the best players in the world. "