ROSARIO/STARNBERG, February 5, 2025
The YPF Rosario Challenger delivered an action-packed Tuesday, featuring thrilling comebacks and milestone victories in Argentina’s most prestigious ATP Challenger Tour event.
Third seed Francisco Comesana opened the day with a hard-fought comeback victory over fellow Argentine Juan Bautista Torres, who had battled through qualifying with wins over seasoned opponents Nicolas Kicker and Marco Cecchinato.
Comesana, who had a standout 2023 season, winning the Buenos Aires Challenger and reaching the third round at Wimbledon and the US Open, secured a 2-6, 6-4, 6-3 victory on the main stadium court at Jockey Club de Rosario.
Seventh seed Federico Coria followed with another comeback win, defeating Austrian talent Joel Schwaerzler in nearly three hours of play. The young Austrian, who had impressed in qualifying, took the first set before Coria fought back to claim a 3-6, 6-3, 6-4 victory.
“El Mojarrismo es un estilo de vida”.
️ Una vieja frase de @fedeecoria que muestra su aguerrida forma de jugar: siempre dejar todo. pic.twitter.com/xjX1FvqbAC
— Rosario Challenger (@rosariochall) February 5, 2025
“I won thanks to the support of the people,” Coria said. “Lately, I’ve been drawing a lot of energy from them and enjoying playing in Argentina. I didn’t expect to struggle so much today. He played aggressive, high-intensity tennis and took his chances well. I’m sure we’ll see him competing on the big stages soon.”
Coria’s reward is an all-Argentine showdown against Juan Manuel Cerundolo in the next round.
One of the biggest stories of the day came from 427th-ranked Guido Justo, who, after battling through qualifying, secured the biggest win of his career by defeating World No. 126 Thiago Tirante in three sets.
Justo now awaits the winner of the highly anticipated Diego Schwartzman vs. Camilo Ugo Carabelli match. Schwartzman is playing the final weeks of his professional career, set to retire at the Argentina Open. His match against sixth seed Ugo Carabelli was scheduled to close Tuesday’s night session, but due to weather delays and ATP regulations, it was postponed to Wednesday at 2 PM local time.
Elsewhere, Juan Pablo Ficovich defeated Roman Andres Burruchaga, who recently won the Piracicaba Challenger. On Court 2, Bolivian brothers Murkel and Hugo Dellien both triumphed—Murkel (No. 200) edged Brazil’s Mateus Alves in three sets, while Hugo came from behind to defeat Taiwan’s Chun-hsin Tseng.
In other action, Italy’s Andrea Pellegrino continued his strong form from qualifying, while his compatriot Francesco Passaro battled past Colombia’s Daniel Elahi Galan in a tough first-round encounter.
TUESDAY RESULTS
Singles – First Round
[3] Francisco Comesana (ARG) def. [Q] Juan Bautista Torres (ARG) – 2-6, 6-4, 6-3
[5] Francesco Passaro (ITA) def. Daniel Elahi Galan (COL) – 2-6, 6-3, 6-3
[7] Federico Coria (ARG) def. [Q] Joel Schwärzler (AUT) – 4-6, 6-3, 6-4
[Q] Andrea Pellegrino (ITA) def. [LL] Adolfo Daniel Vallejo (PAR) – 6-4, 6-2
[Q] Guido Ivan Justo (ARG) def. Thiago Agustin Tirante (ARG) – 3-6, 6-1, 6-2
Juan Pablo Ficovich (ARG) def. Román Andres Burruchaga (ARG) – 6-3, 6-4
Hugo Dellien (BOL) def. Chun-hsin Tseng (TPE) – 4-6, 6-4, 4-1 (retired)
Murkel Dellien (BOL) def. [Q] Mateus Alves (BRA) – 7-5, 3-6, 6-1
