Bulgarian Teen Ivan Ivanov Shines in Paris, Advances to Grand Slam Semifinals

Sports | June 5, 2025, Thursday // 14:56
Bulgaria: Bulgarian Teen Ivan Ivanov Shines in Paris, Advances to Grand Slam Semifinals

Ivan Ivanov continued his remarkable run at Roland Garros, advancing to the semifinals of the junior singles in his Grand Slam debut. The 16-year-old Bulgarian overcame the second seed and world number 4 Jacopo Vasami of Italy, pulling off a stunning comeback to win 3:6, 6:4, 6:2 in a match that lasted an hour and 48 minutes.

After dropping the opening set, in which he conceded two breaks, Ivanov turned the tide with a break at 4:3 in the second. Serving for the set at 5:4, he showed impressive composure, saving four break points before closing it out on his third set point. With that momentum, he surged through the decider, winning five games in a row from 1:2 to seal the victory at 6:2.

Ivanov's path to the semifinals has been impressive throughout. Prior to his win over Vasami, he dispatched French talent Moise Kouamé, Argentine Dante Pagani, and fifth seed Jagger Leach of the USA—the son of former tennis star Lindsay Davenport.

Fellow Bulgarian Alexander Vassilev was also in quarterfinal action, facing 13th seed Ryo Tabata of Japan. Vassilev, seeded 11th, had already knocked out Yannick Alvarez (Puerto Rico), Ronit Karki (USA), and Russia’s Sava Rybkin in earlier rounds.

Meanwhile, Rositsa Dencheva was set to play her quarterfinal match in the girls' singles against Luna Maria Sinai from Argentina. Dencheva had yet to drop a set in the tournament, securing commanding victories over second seed Kristina Penickova (USA), Nauani da Silva (Brazil), and Laima Vladson (Lithuania).

Later in the day, both Ivanov and Vassilev were scheduled to compete in the junior doubles quarterfinals. Ivanov, partnering with Tijs Boochard of the Netherlands, would face the second-seeded pair Oskar Paldanius (Finland) and Alan Wajny (Poland). At the same time, Vassilev and American partner Maxwell Exted were set to take on the third-seeded American duo Keaton Hance and Jack Kennedy.

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Tags: Ivanov, Bulgaria, tennis

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