GRAN CANARIA/STARNBERG, March 2, 2022
Three Italians booked their spot in the quarterfinals of the Gran Canaria Challenger on Wednesday. Riccardo Bonadio knocked out Andrej Martin of Slovakia, No. 3 seed of the €45,730 clay-court tournament hosted by the El Cortijo Club de Campo and organized by MEF Tennis Events, 7-6(6), 7-5.
The 28-year-old from San Vito al Tagliamento converted four of his nine break-point opportunities to advance after exactly two hours of play.
Riccardo #Bonadio reaches the quarterfinals in #GranCanaria 👏👏#GranCanariaIslaEuropeadelDeporte#tennis @ATPChallenger pic.twitter.com/TjEHrJ4CEp
— MEF tennis events (@meftennisevents) March 2, 2022
“I managed to play well in the important moments. I often went to the net and constantly tried to push,” said World No. 276 Bonadio, who would like to crack to the Top 250 for the first time in his career.
“If 2022 will it be my year? I have started to work with a mental coach, the psychologist Nicoletta Cassiani. I’m trying to have a different attitude on the court and to go and earn the point even when I don’t feel great. I think it may be the key to climbing the ranking. Obviously I still have to improve from a technical, tactical and physical point of view, but I think I must first of all change mentally in a drastic way.”
Up next for Bonadio, a winner of 10 singles titles on the ITF Pro Circuit, will be US-American Nicolas Moreno de Alboran, who rallied past Czech veteran Lukas Rosol 3-6, 6-1, 6-4 after one hour and 37 minutes.
Mager prevails
In other action, No. 2 seed Gianluca Mager edged out Javier Barranco Cosano of Spain 6-2, 4-6, 6-3. The World No. 104 fired 13 aces and won 79 per cent of his first-service points to secure victory in two hours and one minute.
Mager will next take on fellow Italian Raul Brancaccio, who defeated Spaniard Eduard Esteve Lobato 7-6(2), 6-1. The encounter lasted one hour and 32 minutes.
Gianluca #Mager 🇮🇹 into quarters in #GranCanaria 🤩@turismogc | @GranCanariaDep | #tennis | #meftennisevents pic.twitter.com/UYs79DSmqq
— MEF tennis events (@meftennisevents) March 2, 2022
Wednesday Results
Riccardo Bonadio b. Andrej Martin 7-6(6) 7-5
Raul Brancaccio b. Eduard Esteve Lobato 7-6(2) 6-1
Nicolas Moreno de Alboran b. Lukas Rosol 3-6 6-1 6-4
Gianluca Mager b. Javier Barranco Cosano 6-2 4-6 6-3
📌 Order of play | Thursday 3 March#GranCanariaChallenger | #tennis pic.twitter.com/ZywX27Aw9h
— MEF tennis events (@meftennisevents) March 2, 2022
