Bulgarian juniors advance to semifinals in Svilengrad tennis tournament

Four Bulgarian junior tennis players have advanced to the semifinals of the Tennis Europe under-16 third-category tournament held in Svilengrad.

In the boys' category, top seed Emil Aleksiev secured his place in the semifinals after defeating fellow Bulgarian Nikola Pavlov 7-6, 6-1. Aleksiev will face Romania's Patrick Dobrin in the next round. Other Bulgarian boys, Hristo Rashkov and Stefan Telkezhiev, were eliminated in the quarterfinals by players from Romania and Poland, respectively.

In the girls' category, three Bulgarians—Raya Markova, Simona Popova, and Nikol Byulbüleva—have reached the semifinals. Markova advanced after a dominant 6-0, 6-0 victory over Romania's Maria Kovaci Stavar and will play Natalia Elena Nichita for a spot in the final. A completely Bulgarian semifinal will take place between Nikol Byulbüleva and Simona Popova.