Ireland's Michael Agwi makes serious strides at ATP Challenger event

Ireland's Michael Agwi is preparing for the biggest match of his fledgling career after he battled through to the quarter-finals of the ATP Challenger event in Hamburg.

Agwi will face Frenchman Clement Chidekh on Friday as a fine week comes to the boil.

He has played doubles with Osgar O’Hoisin in the Dubai Duty Free Open, but this is Agwi's first ATP event for singles.

The 20-year-old received a wildcard into the qualifiers in Hamburg, overcoming Filipo Peliwo of Poland 6-0 6-2 and then Great Britain's Harry Wendelken 6-2 3-6 6-3 to make the main draw.

In the first round, Agwi overpowered Tukish player Cel Ilkel 6-0 6-2 in just 56 minutes before defeating No 8 seed Marc Andrea Huesler of Switzerland in a two-hour scrap, 6-4 5-7 6-4. Huesler is ranked 199th in the world with a career high of 47th in 2023.

Agwi now squares up against Chidekh, who has an impressive record this year himself winning two recent ATP Challenger events to achieve his highest career ranking to date of 320.

Agwi started the year ranked in the 1100s and is currently ranked 758th. He impressed at the Davis Cup in Limerick in February, performing very respectably against Austrian star Dominic Thiem, who ultimately had too much experience for the tall, athletic Dubliner.

However there's no doubt the Irishman's star is on the rise. Another step forward in Germany would serve to further enhance his growing reputation.

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