SINGAPORE, February 23, 2021 (Press Release)
Day 2 of the Singapore Tennis Open, an ATP Tour 250 tournament held on indoor hard courts at the OCBC Arena, kicked off with both singles and doubles action.
Yasutaka Uchiyama of Japan went up against Marc Polmans from Australia in their first ever ATP Tour-level meeting. Uchiyama leads the head to head 2-0 over Polmans in previous ATP Challenger and qualifying events. The World No. 109 from Sapporo extended his winning streak over the Australian, winning in three sets, 6-4, 2-6, 6-4 despite a shoulder injury, to move into the second round after two hours and 18 minutes.
A long time between wins.@yasutaka0805 scores his first victory in a year, 6-4 2-6 6-4 against Polmans.#SingaporeTennisOpen pic.twitter.com/oJFXf474KU
— Tennis TV (@TennisTV) February 23, 2021
“I am happy to win the match as this is my first win of the season,” said Uchiyama. “I think I need to recover well for the next round, right now I’m not sure who’s going to be my next opponent but I have to be ready 100 per cent for the next match.”
Albot defeats Smith
Sixth seed and World No. 76 Radu Albot kicked off his Singapore Tennis Open campaign on Tuesday against Australian qualifier John-Patrick Smith. Albot added another win to his record in 2021 after defeating Smith in a tough three-set battle, 6-2, 3-6, 6-1. The 31-year-old from Moldova is coming off a victory over World No. 13 Roberto Bautista Agut en route to the Australian Open third round before falling to Casper Ruud.
Albot will next face Yannick Hanfmann of Germany who fended off a late second set come back by Australian James Duckworth to seal a 6-2, 6-4 victory in an hour and sixteen minutes.
Celikbilek advances
Later in the day, Altug Celikbilek of Turkey overcame 17-year-old Japanese wild card entry Shintaro Mochizuki in straight sets, 6-0, 6-4. Mochizuki displayed streaks of brilliance in the second set but Celikbilek held a firm grip on the match, closing out the second set and the match with a deft drop volley. Mochizuki made his ATP Tour debut in this match and is the current World No. 2 Junior.
Celikbilek earned a career milestone in Singapore, qualifying for the first time on the ATP Tour this week by defeating Evan King and Matteo Viola over the weekend. The 24-year-old Antalya native will next face fourth seed and World No. 46 Alexander Bublik of Kazakhstan.
Top seeds prevail in doubles
Day 2 of the doubles action began with an upset. Second seeds Rohan Bopanna of India and Ben McLachlan from Japan were knocked out in the first round by Luis David Martinez from Venezuela and Spaniard David Vega Hernandez. The unseeded pair outclassed their opponents, saving 100 per cent of all break points faced and was also the better team on returns, converting 60 per cent of their break points. Martinez and Vega Hernandez will face Sriram Balaji of India and Luca Margaroli from Switzerland in the quarter finals.
Top seeds Sander Gille and Joran Vliegen of Belgium eased into the stage of the final eight teams with a straight sets win over US-American pair Evan King and Hunter Reese, 7-6(3) 6-3 in an hour and 13 minutes.
Fans may tune in to live coverage of the Singapore Tennis Open on meWATCH. Mediacorp, the Official Broadcaster, will have a live broadcast of the Finals on 28 February on Mediacorp Channel 5. Fans may also watch the matches at Hub.Tennis, and beIN Sports from 22 – 28 February.
Full list of Results from Day 2 of the Singapore Tennis Open
RESULTS – FEBRUARY 23, 2021
Men’s Singles – First Round
[6] R. Albot (MDA) d [Q] J. Smith (AUS) 62 36 61
Y. Hanfmann (GER) d J. Duckworth (AUS) 62 64
[Q] A. Celikbilek (TUR) d [WC] S. Mochizuki (JPN) 60 64
Y. Uchiyama (JPN) d M. Polmans (AUS) 64 26 64
Men’s Doubles – First Round
[1] S. Gille (BEL) / J. Vliegen (BEL) d E. King (USA) / H. Reese (USA) 76(3) 63
L. Martinez (VEN) / D. Vega Hernandez (ESP) d [2] R. Bopanna (IND) / B. McLachlan (JPN) 64 62
[WC] J. Cerretani (USA) / A. Shamasdin (CAN) d A. Bublik (KAZ) / M. Polmans (AUS) 61 75
R. Galloway (USA) / A. Lawson (USA) d T. Daniel (JPN) / J. Jung (TPE) 75 63
