MALLORCA/STARNBERG, June 22, 2022
Swiss qualifier Antoine Bellier has reached his first quarterfinal on the ATP Tour. The 25-year-old lefty from Geneva knocked out World No. 19 Pablo Carreno Busta of Spain 6-3, 6-4 in the second round of the Mallorca Championships on Wednesday.
Bellier, who captured his maiden Challenger crown at the San Luis Open in Mexico in April this year, fired 10 aces and won 80 per cent of his first-service points to prevail after one hour and 24 minutes.
What a win! 🤩
World No.303 @antoine_bellier upsets 4th seed Carreno Busta 6-3 6-4 to make his first-ever ATP quarter-final!#MallorcaChampionships pic.twitter.com/d2FK1GHLql
— Tennis TV (@TennisTV) June 22, 2022
“I feel a bit tired right now,” Bellier said afterwards. “Of course I am very happy with this big win. I will take some moments to enjoy this victory and then trying to be ready for tomorrow.”
The World No. 303 will next take on Tallon Griekspoor from the Netherlands, who rallied past Alex Molcan of Slovakia 0-6, 6-3, 7-6(3) in exactly two hours of play.
“This has been the biggest win of my career, but it’s tennis. The next day you have to step on the court again and beat another tough player. The most important thing is to stick to my game and try to do my best in every match.”
Medvedev beats Karatsev
Top seed Daniil Medvedev opened his title bid with a 4-6, 6-3 6-2 win over fellow-Russian Aslan Karatsev. The World No. 1 struck 10 aces and won 53 per cent of the total points played to advance after two hours and 18 minutes.
Sealed with an ace 🔥@DaniilMedwed overcomes Karatsev 4-6 6-3 6-2 to move into the #MallorcaChampionships quarter-finals! pic.twitter.com/m1AFlA3d0g
— Tennis TV (@TennisTV) June 22, 2022
“It was tough to play in rhythm,” Medvedev said of the windy conditions. “It felt like many points were just whoever managed to put the ball in the court was going to win the point. It was not easy but I’m happy to win because that’s the most important thing.”
Up next for Medvedev will be Roberto Bautista Agut from Spain. The fifth favourite received a walkover from Australia’s Nick Kyrgios, who withdrew from the match due to injury.
Tsitsipas advances, Shapovalov falls
In the bottom half of the draw, No. 2 seed Stefanos Tsitsipas began his Mallorca campaign with a 6-4, 6-4 win over Ilya Ivashka from Belarus. The Greek did not face a break point in his one-hour and 23-minute win.
Too strong 👏@steftsitsipas defeats Ivaskha 6-4 6-4 to make the last 8 in Mallorca!#MallorcaChampionships pic.twitter.com/dAt7dLMhkN
— Tennis TV (@TennisTV) June 22, 2022
“The serve is very important on these kind of courts. I think I was managing the situations on my serve very well,” Tsitsipas said in his on-court interview.
“I felt a little bit better in the rallies. I felt like after my first serve, I was really able to get behind the ball and pick the right spots. It was I guess very difficult for the opponent to be able to adjust to this. I was doing it very well. I was very dedicated to that. It was really good for me from start to finish.”
Tsitsipas will next oppose Marcos Giron, who emerged victorious from the all-US-American affair with Mackenzie McDonald, winning 4-6, 7-6(5), 6-4 in two hours and 17 minutes.
Daniel Altmaier from Germany fought past eighth-seeded Argentine Sebastian Baez and will next play Frenchman Benjamin Bonzi, who upset No. 3 seed Denis Shapovalov of Canada 6-4, 6-1 in 67 minutes.
