Alexander Vassilev ended his participation in the singles of the hard court tennis tournament in the Greek city of Heraklion with a prize fund of 15,000 euros.
The 19-year-old Bulgarian, who was seeded No. 4 in the main draw of the competition, lost in the second round to German Michel Hopp 3:6, 4:6 after an hour and 32 minutes of battle on the court.
The match started difficult for the Bulgarian, who was behind 0:3 at the very beginning. Vassilev showed character, switched to a higher gear and managed to equalize for 3:3. However, the German responded quickly, winning the next three consecutive games and closing the first set 6:3.
The scenario repeated itself in the second set, where Vassilev again conceded an early 1:3 deficit, but with a powerful game he reached a new equalizer for 3:3. In the seventh game, however, Michel Hopp made another key breakthrough, which turned out to be completely sufficient to seal his victory with 6:4 and qualify for the quarterfinals.