MARBELLA, March 27, 2019
The top two seeds of the Casino Admiral Trophy opened their title bid on Wednesday in Marbella. Benoit Paire, top-ranked player in the singles draw of the ATP Challenger 80 tournament, fought past Pedro Cachín of Argentina 7-6(3), 2-6, 6-2.
Pablo Andújar
The World No. 67 from France sent down eight aces, winning 67 per cent of his first service points to prevail after two hours and 11 minutes. Paire will next take on Canadian qualifier Steven Diez, who defeated Kimmer Coppejans of Belgium 6-2, 6-3 in one hour and 27 minutes.
No. 2 seed Pablo Andújar, who clinched three ATP Challenger titles and one trophy on the ATP Tour last year, beat Austian wild card entry Jürgen Melzer 6-4, 6-4. The 33-year-old from Spain capitalized on five of his seven break point opportunities to advance in one hour and 20 minutes.
Up next for Andújar will be Mario Vilella Martínez, who cruised past Next Gen German Rudolf Molleker 6-2, 6-4. The encounter only lasted 54 minutes.
El público disfruta del partido entre @AndujarPablo🇪🇸 y @jojomelzer🇦🇹. El español lidera el resultado 6-4, 3-3 en la cancha central del #CasinoAdmiraltrophy pic.twitter.com/izlUUJSZaj
— Casino Admiral Trophy (@casinoadmiralt) 27. März 2019
Carlos Taberner also advanced to the third round of the €46,600 clay-court event, edging out No. 4 seeded Portuguese Pedro Sousa. The match was suspended on Tuesday evening due to darkness after the fifth game of the final set. Taberner had the better ending, sealing a 6-3, 1-6, 6-4 victory in two hours and five minutes. The 21-year-old Spaniard will next play compatriot Alejandro Davidovich Fokina.
Eurosport and Spanish Tennis Federation (RFET) join forces
Off the courts, Eurosport Spain announced to broadcast live all eight ATP Challengers to be held on Spanish soil this year. The pan-European television sports network will start on Friday with the quarterfinals at the Puente Romano Tenis Club.
EXTRA GOOD NEWS! 📣@Eurosport_ES joins forces with @spaintenis and will broadcast #CasinoAdmiralTrophy 2019 👏.
That is 2 matches on Friday, both semifinals and singles final. Stay tuned! 😄https://t.co/FXzyd0avOp— Casino Admiral Trophy (@casinoadmiralt) 27. März 2019
RESULTS – MARCH 27, 2019
Men’s
Singles – Second Round
[1] B. Paire (FRA) d P. Cachin (ARG) 76(3) 26 62
[2] P. Andujar (ESP) d [WC] J. Melzer (AUT) 64 64
[WC] C. Taberner (ESP) d [4] P. Sousa (POR) 63 16 64
[6] T. Monteiro (BRA) d M. Donati (ITA) 76(4) 64
G. Mager (ITA) d [8] F. Bagnis (ARG) 26 64 60
[9] S. Bolelli (ITA) d C. Hemery (FRA) 76(2) 62
[11] F. Baldi (ITA) d Z. Kolar (CZE) 76(4) 63
[13] A. Arnaboldi (ITA) d D. Gimeno-Traver (ESP) 63 64
M. Vilella Martinez (ESP) d [14] R. Molleker (GER) 62 64
[Q] S. Diez (CAN) d [16] K. Coppejans (BEL) 62 63
Men’s
Doubles – First Round
[2] J. O’Mara (GBR) / K. Skupski (GBR) d L. Margaroli (SUI) / P. Sousa (POR) 61 62
[3] J. Nedunchezhiyan (IND) / P. Raja (IND) d [ITF] R. Bonadio (ITA) / P. Heller (GER) 75 62
[4] S. Gille (BEL) / J. Vliegen (BEL) d [WC] A. Menendez-Maceiras (ESP) / T. Robredo (ESP) 76(5) 26 10-6
[ITF] D. Perez Sanz (ESP) / O. Roca Batalla (ESP) d A. Behar (URU) / T. Monteiro (BRA) 75 64
[Alt] K. Coppejans (BEL) / G. Moroni (ITA) d G. Granollers (ESP) / P. Martinez (ESP) 46 75 10-5
