Despite managing just one ace to his opponent’s seven, Spain’s Albert Ramos-Vinolas took down Argentina’s Pedro Cachin 6-4, 3-6, 6-1 in the first round of the Cordoba (Argentina) Open on Monday.
Ramos-Vinolas, though unseeded, won the Cordoba tournament in 2022 after getting to the final the previous year. On Monday, he converted four of six break points and won 18 of his 29 second-return points (62.1 percent) to keep Cachin on his heels and eventually win in 2 hours, 5 minutes.
Another Spaniard, Jaume Munar, beat Colombia’s Daniel Elahi Galan 6-2, 6-4 and will face top seed Francisco Cerundolo of Argentina in the next round.
Hugo Dellien of Bolivia needed three sets to oust Brazil’s Thiago Seyboth Wild, and Argentina’s Facundo Diaz Acosta and Facundo Bagnis both won their opening matches.
Open 13 Provence
Italian sixth seed Lorenzo Musetti eased past German alternate Maximilian Marterer 6-4, 6-2 in the first round at Marseille, France.
Musetti saved three of five break points while winning 20 of his 27 first-service points (74.1 percent).
Only two other main-draw matches were played Monday. Kazakhstan’s Alexander Shevchenko took down French wild card Benjamin Bonzi 7-6 (4), 6-4, and Roberto Bautista Agut of Spain beat France’s Richard Gasquet 6-3, 7-5.
Dallas Open
Sixth-seeded Australian Max Purcell swatted 14 aces and warded off an upset by picking up a 6-2, 4-6, 7-6 (3) victory over American wild card Mitchell Krueger in first-round action at Dallas.
Krueger trailed 5-3 in the third set but Purcell won three consecutive games — saving two match points — to wind up in a tiebreaker. Purcell then raced out to a 6-1 lead before sealing the victory on his fifth total match point. He will face another American in the second round — Marcos Giron or qualifier Nicolas Moreno De Alboran.
In other first-round action, Japan’s Taro Daniel was on the verge of victory at 4-6, 6-4, 5-0 when Frenchman Constant Lestienne retired from the match due to an arm injury.
–Field Level Media
