SEGOVIA, August 4, 2015
The top-seeds advanced to the second round, winning their opening matches at the € 42,500 ATP Challenger Open Castilla y León in El Espinar.
The tournament’s favourite, Marcel Granollers remained untroubled beating Caio Zampieri in their first tour meeting. The world number 74 from Barcelona didn’t face a break point, hit six aces and won 88% of his first service points to reach the next round after only 47 minutes through a 6-1, 6-1 victory.
“I am very pleased with this win today. I played well, but my opponent also made more mistakes and was less successful. Due to the altitude, the balls fly a lot and you have to get used to it. But with every game, it’s getting better,” Granollers told afterwards.
Marcel Granollers
Second seed Dustin Brown, who is making his tournament debut, defeated Frederico Ferre Silva, winning 6-3, 7-6 in their first tour meeting. The 30-year-old German fired 15 aces and closed the match after 67 minutes without facing a break point.
Dustin Brown
Brown will face Connor Smith in the second round, who beat Hernrique Cunha 6-2, 6-2 in one hour and one minute.
Fourth seed Adrián Menéndez Maceiras overcame Quentin Halys, winning 4-6, 6-3, 6-1. The 29-year-old Spaniard won 77% of his first service points and capitalized on four of his 13 break point chances to prevail after one hour and 47 minutes.
“It was a tough match. I think that I had more opportunities than my opponent but wasn’t able to capitalize. The key moment was in the second set, when I finally gained a break. This gave me some confidence and my game improved. Happy to finally get the victory, reaching the next round,” Menéndez-Maceiras told.
Adrián Menéndez Maceiras
The tournament’s number five Mirza Basic dismissed Di Wu, winning 6-2, 6-2. The world number 152 from Bosnia-Herzegovina only had to save one break point and converted four of his own to seal victory after 61 minutes facing Croatian qualifier Nikola Mektic next, who beat lucky loser Riccardo Ghedin 6-4, 7-5 in 79 minutes. The Italian entered main draw, as Lamine Ouahab withdrew from the tournament.
Only third seed Matthias Bachinger was knocked out in the opening round. The world number 118 from Germany lost to David Guez 4-6, 3-6. The 32-year-old Frenchman won 74% of his first service points and broke his opponent’s serve three times to advance after one hour and 17 minutes. Guez will take on Egor Gerasimov in the second round.
