CLEVELAND, Ohio – Illinois senior Aleks Kovacevic reached his first career ATP Challenger semi-finals on Friday night at the Cleveland Open.

Kovacevic entered the tournament has a qualifier and played his way into the main draw. He defeated No.8 see Alejandro Gomez and No. 3 seed Strong Kirchheimer to move into the singles competition.

"This past week in Cleveland was a huge step for me and my tennis. Coming through the qualifying draw all the way to the semifinals was awesome, as the quarantine has limited the amount of opportunities I've had to compete, so playing all those matches against some of the best players in the world was a huge boost going forward'" said Kovacevic.

In the main draw, Kovacevic defeated two players ranked in the top 300. He beat Roberto Cid Subervi and Roy Smith in straight sets. In the quarterfinals, he defeated Yosuke Watanuki 5-7, 6-2, 6-3.

Head Coach Brad Dancer and the team rooted for Kovacevic from Champaign and on the road in Indiana.

"The whole team had a blast watching Kova advance through qualifying and then into his first semi-finals of a Challenger," said head coach Brad Dancer. "It's Very exciting for him and a maturing week where he continues to learn more about his game and the nuances of playing each competitive match.  We are thrilled for this and also Kova's excitement to get back to work this week with the team."

Kovacevic will return the team on Monday to prepare to host No. 8 Michigan and Michigan State next weekend.

"I'm Looking forward to linking back up with the team and keeping the train rolling this weekend against Michigan at home. It's going to be a challenge but we'll be ready for it."