MARBELLA, March 28, 2021
The ATP Challenger Tour has returned to the Spanish holiday resort of Marbella for the fourth straight year with the 2021 AnyTech365 Andalucia Open held at the Club de Tenis Puente Romano. Marbella is situated on the Mediterranean Sea, between Málaga and the Strait of Gibraltar, in the foothills of the Sierra Blanca.
Qualifying of the €44,820 clay-court event at the Costa del Sol kicked off on a sunny Sunday with Danish teen sensation Holger Rune headlining the action. The 17-year-old winner of the 2019 French Open boys’ singles title eased past David Pichler from Austria 6-1, 6-3 to reach the second round. Rune didn’t face a break point and capitalized on four of his own five-break point chances to advance after only 56 minutes.
The World No. 317 will next face Spanish wild card entry Carlos Sanchez Jover for a spot in the main draw. The 20-year-old lefty from Albacete defeated No. 6 seed Michael Geerts from Belgium 6-3, 6-2 in one hour and 22 minutes.
Rune, who has already captured four titles on the ITF World Tennis Tour, is seeking his 10th appearance in the main draw of an ATP Challenger event. He was awarded a wild card into the main draw of the AnyTech365 Andalucia Open ATP 250 tournament, which will be held at the same place from April 4 to 11.
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Vit Kopriva from the Czech Republic, top seed of the qualifying, defeated local wild card Alex Marti Pujolras 7-6(4), 6-2 after one hour and 40 minutes and will next face No. 7 seed Eduard Esteve Lobato of Spain. The semi-finalist of the Gran Canaria Challenger II earlier this month defeated Italian Enrico Dalla Valle 6-3, 6-4.
In other action, US-American Nick Chappell cruised past Argentine Fermin Tenti 6-0, 6-0 to take on No. 3 seeded Spaniard Javier Barranco Cosano next. Timofey Skatov from Kazakhstan edged out Lucas Gerch of Germany 7-5, 7-5 and will oppose Nikolas Sanchez Izquierdo from Spain in the upcoming round.
Sunday – Qualifying Results
Holger RUNE def. David PICHLER 61 63
Carlos SÁNCHEZ JOVER def. Michael GEERTS 63 62
Eduard ESTEVE LOBATO def. Enrico DALLA VALLE 63 64
Vit KOPRIVA def. Alex MARTÍ PUJOLRAS 76(4) 64
Nick CHAPPELL def. Fermin TENTI 60 60
Javier BARRANCO COSANO def. Jose Francisco VIDAL AZORIN 62 64
Nikolas SANCHEZ IZQUIERDO def. Ángel GUERRERO MELGAR 61 60
Timofey SKATOV def. Lucas GERCH 75 75
