Eighteen-year-old wildcard Karim Bennani claimed his first ATP Tour win by defeating world No. 90 Quentin Halys 6-4, 6-7(5), 6-2 at the Grand Prix Hassan II in Marrakech. The victory ended an eight-year drought for Moroccan players on the tour. Bennani celebrated emotionally by throwing his racket and lying on the clay court amid crowd cheers.
Ranked No. 731, Bennani achieved the feat in his debut tour-level match outside Davis Cup. The 18-year-old became the youngest Moroccan man to win at this level, following Taha Baadi's earlier victory over Aleksandar Vukic 6-2, 3-6, 6-1 on the same day. Baadi, ranked No. 587, marked Morocco's first ATP win since Lamine Ouahab in 2018, boosting his ranking to No. 478 live standings. Bennani echoed that milestone soon after, igniting national pride on home clay. “I don’t know what to say. I still can’t believe what just happened,” Bennani said in his on-court interview. “Thank you to the amazing Moroccan crowd, my coaches, my parents… I’m just really happy with the win.” Both advance to the second round, with Baadi facing third seed Corentin Moutet and Bennani taking on Yannick Hanfmann. Nineteen-year-old wildcard Reda Bennani adds more local hope, set to play Mattia Bellucci on Tuesday. The Marrakech crowd's energy builds around these breakthroughs.
