Chile Open: Horror day for Slovakia as Chilean wildcard moves through
IF you were a Slovakian fan in Chile to see the four players taking to the courts in the Open, you no doubt headed home disappointed with all four bowing out in the opening round of competition. In a rare special, the entire Court 1 matches featured Slovakian players, while qualifier, Martin Klizan also played in the tournament on Central Court.
Klizan bowed out to seventh seed Argentinian, Federico Delbonis in straight sets 6-1 7-6. His departure was followed by Andrej Martin, Jozef Kovalik and fellow qualifier, Filip Horansky as departures on the second day of main draw competition. Martin lost to Alejandro Davidovich Fokina 2-6 7-6 6-3, as Salvatore Caruso downed Kovalik 6-2 6-3 and Peruvian lucky loser, Juan Pablo Varillas knocked out Horansky 6-4 6-2.
In other results, eighth seed Brazilian Thiago Monteiro came from a set down to win against Argentinian, Leonardo Mayer 6-7 6-3 6-4, while Argentinian qualifier, Renzo Olivio upset Portugal’s Pedro Sousa – who reached the Argentina Open final – 4-6 6-3 6-4. In the all-Argentinian match, fifth seed Juan Ignacio Londero defeated compatriot, Federico Coria 6-4 6-2.
The one home nation player on the day was Chilean wildcard, Alejandro Tabilo. He moved through to the Round of 16 with a straight sets win over Italian, Pablo Lorenzi. Tabilo won 6-3 6-4 in an hour and 35 minutes, serving seven aces at a 73 per cent serving efficiency. He also won 73 per cent of his first serve points and broke three times to Loreni’s one to make his way through to the second round and now faces second seed, Norwegian Casper Ruud.
ROUND OF 32 RESULTS:
[5] J. Londero (ARG) defeated F. Coria (ARG) 6-4 6-2
[7] F. Delbonis (ARG) defeated [Q] M. Klizan (SVK) 6-1 7-6
[8] T. Monteiro (BRA) defeated L. Mayer (ARG) 6-7 6-3 6-4
[WC] A. Tabilo (CHI) defeated P. Lorenzi (ITA) 6-3 6-4
A. Davidovich Fokina (ESP) defeated A. Martin (SVK) 2-6 7-6 6-3
S. Caruso (ITA) defeated J. Kovalik (SVK) 6-2 6-3
J. Varillas (PER) defeated [Q] F. Horansky (SVK) 6-4 6-2
[Q] R. Olivo (ARG) defeated P. Sousa (POR) 4-6 6-3 6-4
Aussies among 2024 BJK Cup finalists
AUSTRALIA will contest the 2024 Billie Jean King Cup Finals after the green and gold whitewashed Mexico in the Qualifiers to reach the 16-team event. The Aussies won 4-0 over their Central American opponents in a result that came as no surprise considering the relative ranking difference between the nations. Aside from Arina Rodionova getting […]
Tsitsipas’ triple treat in Monte Carlo
GREEK star Stefanos Tsitsipas has won his third Monte Carlo Masters, getting past fellow clay court talent Casper Ruud in the final. The decider on Court Rainier III lasted 97 minutes, with the 12th seed winning 6-1 6-4 over the eighth seeded Norwegian, adding the 2024 title to his back-to-back 2021-22 trophies. It is an […]
Monte Carlo madness: Top two ousted in semis
CLAY courts can tend to throw up some big results, and that was certainly the case in the semi-final stage of the 2024 Monte Carlo Masters. With the top two in the world, Novak Djokovic and Jannik Sinner heading for a memorable final, many expected the pair to face-off in the decider. The only problem? […]
Djoker quells Demon to reach Monte Carlo semis
WORLD number one Novak Djokovic proved that bit too strong for Australian Alex de Minaur, getting home in a tight two-set match at the Monte Carlo Masters. While just a couple of breaks throughout the course of the match separated the players, Djokovic was able to move to within two victories of a third clean […]
Rune wins Dimitrov slog to reach Monte Carlo quarters
WHEN you had to play your Round of 32 match earlier in the day following rain suspension from the previous day, the last thing you want is an epic struggle, but that was exactly the case for Dane Holger Rune who needed three and half hours to get past Grigor Dimitrov and reach the Monte […]
Pop goes the Rublev, as defending champ ousted by Aussie
AUSSIE Alexei Popyrin caused a massive boilover at the Monte Carlo Masters overnight, defeating top 10 star and defending champion Andrey Rublev to set up an all-Aussie third round match with Alex de Minaur. Popyrin has always shown the potential to be a top-line player, and he put it all together against the sixth seed, […]
Demon dash – Aussie races into second round
TOP-RANKED Australian Alex de Minaur was at his brutal best, making light work of Swiss Grand Slam champion Stan Wawrinka to reach the second round of the Monte Carlo Masters in a flurry. Needing just 63 minutes against the wildcard, de Minaur won 6-3 6-0, including the last eight games of the match. Wasting no […]
Getting his Fils: Arthur slays Hanfmann
YOUNG Frenchman Arthur Fils wasted no time in destroying his German opponent Yannick Hanfmann and making history in the process at the Monte Carlo Masters overnight. The 19-year-old Frenchman became the youngest male player from his nation to win a match at the event in almost two decades when he wiped his lucky loser opponent […]
Struff that! German’s Monte Carlo magic
BIG serving German Jan-Lennard Struff has left the Monte Carlo Masters crowd shocked after producing an all-time comeback against Argentinian Sebastian Baez. Heading in as the underdog against the South American who had already collected two clay court titles this season, Struff fought back from 6-1 5-2 down in the second set to win 10 […]
