COMO, August 29, 2016
While the top-ranked players of the circuit are hitting the hard courts in New York, the ATP Challenger Tour continues its clay court swing in Italy with the €42,500 Torneo Città di Como, held at the local Tennis Club. It is the lone event this week, held on European soil.
The tournament’s first round kicked off on Monday with third seed Taro Daniel in action. The world number 101 opened his title bid with a 6-4, 6-1 victory over Stefano Napolitano. Daniel won 68 per cent of his first service points and capitalized on six of his 14 break point chances to advance in one hour and 21 minutes. He awaits the winner of the match between Italian qualifier Andrea Vavassori and Mohamed Safwat in the second round.
Nils Langer eased past Gianluca Mager 6-3, 6-1 to player either Albert Montanes or Uladzimir Ignatik next. Kenny de Schepper cruised past Rankumar Ramanathan, winning 6-2, 6-2 in only 60 minutes play. The 29-year-old Frenchman will next face the winner of the encounter between Andrey Rublev and fourth seed Andrej Martin.
Mixed Feelings For Ymer Brothers
NextGen star Elias Ymer lost his opening match to Meerbusch runner-up Maximilian Marterer 3-6, 5-7. The 20-year-old Swede was a set and a break down and was on his way back. He leveled score at 5-5 in the second frame but lost his serve in the 12th game for the fourth time. Marterer emerged victorious in one hour and 24 minutes and will next take on either Manerbio champion Leonardo Mayer or Pedro Sousa.
Elias’ younger brother Mikael Ymer made a successful return the tour by qualifying for the main draw in Como. Ymer had been sidelined from the courts for nine months due to hip injury. The 17-year-old played his last match during the qualifying of the ATP Challenger in Brescia in November last year.
Ymer rallied back from a set down to overcome Argentine Andrea Collarini 4-6, 6-3, 6-4 in two hours and 41 minutes to qualify for his first main draw since Bratislava 2015.
“I am able to play without any pain,” the world number 726 was happy with his first win of the season. Ymer had to undergo a lot of physiotherapy treatment in the past months. “Intensive stretching ahead of the matches is very important now.”
Ymer, who practices at the Good to Great Tennis Academy in Stockholm, is accompanied in Italy by Fredrik Rosengren, Johan Hedsberg and one physiotherapist. The team is currently working on techniques to hit the ball in the best possible and cleanest way. Ymer will play Serbian qualifier Danilo Petrovic in the main draw.
