Klein Advances At Polish Cup In Warsaw

Lukas Klein (photo: BNP Paribas Polish Cup)

WARSAW/STARNBERG, August 24, 2021

Main draw action at the BNP Paribas Polish Cup kicked off on Tuesday. Lukas Klein from Slovakia opened his title bid with a three-set win over Julian Lenz of Germany.

The No. 3 seed of the €44,820 clay-court tournament, held at the Legia Tenis & Golf in Warsaw, Poland, fired eight aces and won 64 per cent of his first-service points to secure a 6-1, 3-6, 6-3 victory in one hour and 54 minutes.

World No. 251 Klein, a winner of six singles trophies on the ITF Pro Circuit, will next take Andrey Kuznetsov. The 30-year-old Russian eased past Viktor Durasovic of Norway 6-0, 6-2 after exactly one hour of play.

Over on Court 2, Nuno Borges defeated Lucas Catarina from Monaco 6-3, 7-5. The World No. 283 from Portugal capitalized on five of his seven break-point opportunities to prevail after one hour and 22 minutes. Up next for Borges will be Javier Barranco Cosano. The 22-year-old Spaniard knocked off No. 8 seed Mirza Basic from Bosnia and Herzgovina 6-3, 6-1. Barranco Cosano, a quarterfinalist at last week’s Sauerland Open in Lüdenscheid, Germany, won 60 per cent of the total points played to advance after 77 minutes.

Altmaier to face Borg Wednesday

The tournament’s top seed Daniel Altmaier of Germany will step into action on Wednesday, facing Swedish teenager Leo Borg in the first round. The 18-year-old wild card entry is the son of former World No. 1 Björn Borg, who became the first man in the Open Era to win 11 Grand Slam singles titles between 1974 and 1981.

Leo will play his second ATP Challenger event in Poland in recent times after falling in the opening round of the Poznan Open to Alexander Shevchenko in late July. Altmaier and Borg will meet for the first time.