LISBON/STARNBERG, September 29, 2021

The top half of the draw was in second-round action on Wednesday at the Del Monte Lisboa Belém Open being held at the Club International de Football in Lisbon, Portugal.

Unseeded Italian Andrea Pellegrino ended the winning streak of top favourite and last week’s Braga Open champion Thiago Monteiro. The World No. 258 beat the Brazilian 6-3, 7-6(8) in the final match of the day.

Under the lights on Center Court, Pellegrino sent down six aces and won 75 per cent of his first-service points to seal victory in one hour and 48 minutes.

Incredible scenes here in Lisboa as Andrea Pellegrino upsets top seed Thiago Monteiro 6-3, 7-6(8) after wasting a 5-3 lead in the second set and saving three set points in a row in the tie-break. pic.twitter.com/SQ7GhkKWOk

— Gaspar Ribeiro Lança (@gasparlanca) September 29, 2021

“It’s a good win for me,” Pellegrino said in his post-match press conference. “The last two or three months were very tough for me, as I didn’t win a match. I played a good match in Braga last week and I am happy with the two matches I played here. I hope to continue like this.”

The 24-year-old from Bisceglie, who was on a 12 match losing streak before arriving in Lisbon, will next take on Portuguese Frederico Ferreiro Silva. The 26-year-old lefty fought past #NextGenATP Italian Giulio Zeppieri 6-7(3), 6-4, 6-0 after one hour and 57 minutes.

“He is a good player,” Pellegrino said of his upcoming opponent. “It will be a tough match. My goal is to remain aggressive on the court and to focus on my game. Then we will see.”

Earlier in the day, Andrej Martin also had to go the distance against local wild card entry Goncalo Oliveira. The No. 4 seed from Slovakia broke his opponent’s serve four times to prevail 2-6, 6-4, 6-3 in two hours and 26 minutes.

Martin will next face Nikola Milojevic. The fifth seed from Serbia defeated Frenchman Constant Lestienne 7-5, 6-4. The encounter lasted one hour and 46 minutes.