TODI, August 15, 2020
The re-start of the ATP Challenger Tour following the suspension of play due to the COVID-19 pandemic took place at the Tennis Club Todi 1971 in Italy with the qualifying of the € 88,520 Internazionali Di Tennis Citta Di Todi.
Spanish teenager Carlos Alcaraz Garfia was the first match winner on Saturday morning with a 6-2, 6-3 victory over Italian wild card entry Flavio Cobolli. The 17-year-old, who is accompanied by his coach and former World No. 1 Juan Carlos Ferrero in Umbria, converted six of his 11 break point chances to prevail after one hour and 19 minutes.
Carlos #AlcarazGarfia batte Flavio #Cobolli 6-2 6-3 e approda al secondo ed ultimo turno di qualificazioni 🇪🇸 #Todi #ATPChallenger #tennis pic.twitter.com/7I067K5aQz
— Matteo Mosciatti (@matmosciatti11) August 15, 2020
“I am very happy with this victory, as it was a long time without international tournaments,” Alcaraz Garfia said. “I played a national tournament at home in Spain and I did well today.”
Asked about the time during the lockdown in Spain, the Murcia native answered: “I just practiced with my physical trainer. I tried to keep myself in a good shape. I think that I am ready to compete with good players on the ATP Tour.”
Alcaraz Garfia is only one win away from his seventh appearance in a main draw on the ATP Challenger Tour. He will next take on No. 4 seed Borna Gojo of Croatia, who eased past Spaniard Nikolas Sanchez Izquierdo 6-4, 6-0 in one hour and 13 minutes.
In the remaining final round qualifying matches Alexandre Muller of France will take on Italy’s Andrea Vavassori, Viktor Galovic from Croatia will face Riccardo Bonadio of Italy and local wild card entry Matteo Gigante will play fellow Italian Andrea Arnaboldi.
Main draw to kick off Monday
Main draw action will start on Monday. The field of the ATP Challenger 100 clay-court event is led by World No. 99 Roberto Carballes Baena. The 27-year-old Spaniard will open his title bid against Austrian young gun Jurij Rodionov, who already clinched two Challenger trophies this year at the RBC Tennis Championships of Dallas in the United States and the Morelos Open Credito Real in Mexico.
No. 2 seed Marco Cecchinato will begin his home campaign against Andrea Collarini of Argentina. The 27-year-old Italian is a three-time champion on the ATP Tour and reached a career-high ranking of World No. 16 in February 2019. Collarini celebrated his maiden triumph on the ATP Challenger Tour in nearby L’Aquila last year.
The Todi Challenger was previously held in the Italian town from 2007 to 2017 and featured many decorated champions including future Top 50 stars Carlos Berlocq, Andrey Kuznetsov, Aljaz Bedene and Federico Delbonis.
