WASHINGTON, February 4, 2022 (by Michael Dickens)
When Mikael Ymer put the finishing touches on his 6-1, 6-2 second-round victory over a fatigued World No. 16 Gaël Monfils at the Open Sud de France in Montpellier Thursday night, it capped a memorable day for Sweden’s Ymer brothers – a pair of Top-20 victories achieved on separate continents.
For the first time, both Mikael and Elias Ymer have reached the quarterfinals of different ATP Tour events in the same week. Their respective victories occurred about 10 hours apart, one in Asia and the other in Europe.
Ymer Squared 🙌
Following his brother in Pune, @MikaelYmer gets a top 20 win defeating Monfils 6-1 6-2 to make the Montpellier quarter-finals!@OpenSuddeFrance pic.twitter.com/6uShh65DrV
— Tennis TV (@TennisTV) February 3, 2022
Mikael Ymer, ranked 83rd, needed just 58 minutes to advance past the No. 3 seed Monfils in the final match of the day in Montpellier, France. It was Ymer’s second career victory against Monfils and followed his four-set, second-round win at Roland Garros last year. On Friday, the 23-year-old Ymer, a native of Skovde, Sweden, will play 35-year-old French veteran Richard Gasquet, ranked 75th.
“I felt very good, I moved very well. I stayed very composed and patient,” Ymer said during his on-court interview that followed his victory, which improved his 2022 win-loss record to 4-2 and placed him into his second quarterfinal of the young season. He won 83 percent (20 of 24) of his first-serve points, converted five of eight break-point opportunities, did not face any break points on his serve, and outpointed Monfils 56-29.
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Earlier Thursday, in Pune, India, Ymer’s older brother Elias knocked off No. 1 seed Aslan Karatsev of Russia, 6-2, 7-6 (3), to advance to the quarterfinal round of the Tata Open Maharashtra, just his second last-eight appearance on the ATP Tour and first since Gstaad in 2016. The 163rd-ranked Ymer, who qualified for the main draw, dominated the World No. 15 Karatsev, firing 10 aces and winning 80 percent (24 of 30) first-serve points, en route to his one-hour and 36-minute victory. It’s arguably the biggest triumph of his budding career.
HUGE UPSET 😳@eliasymer gets his first top 20 win after defeating top seed Karatsev 6-2 7-6 to move into the quarter-finals at the #TataOpenMaharastra pic.twitter.com/YLgJJw64qv
— Tennis TV (@TennisTV) February 3, 2022
“It is my highest win ever,” Ymer, 25, said during an on-court interview after his victory, which improved his tour-level win-loss record to 6-1 this season (2-0 in main draw competition). It was just his second victory over a Top-50 opponent and first in nearly seven years. “I am really happy. It is big for me. I have been fighting a lot and I was serving amazing today. I hope to keep it going. I am so happy to finally get this win,” he said.
The victory advanced Ymer to face No. 8 seed Stefano Travaglia of Italy. A win would lift him into the first ATP Tour semifinal of his career.
