MAIA, November 29, 2022 (by Dietmar Kaspar)
The 2022 season on the ATP Challenger Tour concludes this week in Portugal with the fourth edition of the Maia Open. The €45,730 indoor clay-court event is being held at Complexo de Ténis da Maia situated in the North of Porto.
The field is led by local hero Nuno Borges, who starts into the tournament against qualifier Denis Istomin from Uzbekistan. The World No. 91 is joined by a strong Portuguese contingent featuring 2020 Maia Open champion Pedro Sousa as well as wild card entrants Fabio Coelho, Joao Domingues and Goncalo Oliveira.
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Rodionov beats Kolar
Second seed Jurij Rodionov opened his title bid on Monday against Zdenek Kolar from the Czech Republik on Center Court. After an even start, the 23-year-old Austrian broke his opponent in the ninth game and secured the opening set by his serve.
The World No. 120 increased his control of the match with an early break in the third game of the second set to seal a 6-4, 6-3 victory after one hour and 46 minutes.
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“I think it was a good match from my side, because Zdenek fights for every point and it is never easy to beat him,” Rodionov told Tennis TourTalk after the match.
Asked about the change of surface from hard court to clay, he replied: “It was not a problem in terms of playing, but in a physical way other muscles are strained on this surface and we will see how my body will react. But it is my last tournament of the season so I will leave everything on court this week.”
Vukic and Collarini advance
No. 5 seed Aleksandar Vukic opposed Louis Wessels from Germany in his opening match. After a dominant start with the Australian winning the opening set, 24-year-old Wessels fought back to level the match after winning the tie-break in the second set. In the deciding set, the 26-year-old Australian saved three break points in the first game and after the deciding break in the third game, he remained solid to triumph 6-2, 6-7, 6-1 in about two hours.
“It is honestly good to win the first match, because it is very cold here what I did not expect. Louis played some really good tennis, so I am happy about the victory,” World No. 140 Vukic said. Asked about the reason for the change of surface for the last tournament of the year, he commented: “I just wanted to play another tournament because there is no competition on hard court this week.”
In the last match of the day, 30-year-old Andrea Collarini from Argentina faced Alexey Vatutin. In a thrilling match with both players earning nine breaks, left-handed Collarini, ranked World No. 241, scored two points less than the Russian but secured a 5-7, 7-6, 6-3 win after two hours and 46 minutes.
Main draw is set
Earlier in the day, the finals of the qualifying competition were held on the three match courts. Belgian young guns Raphael Collignon and Gauthier Onclin both booked their spots in the main draw. They have joined Alexander Lazarov from Bulgaria, Austrian Maximilian Neuchrist, Denis Istomin from Uzbekistan and Evgeny Karlovskiy of Russia.
First-round action at the Maia Open will continue on Tuesday. Play will start at 11 a.m. local time. There is free entry for spectators during the whole tournament. For more information, please visit the tournament’s official website.
Maia Open Monday Results
Singles – First Round
(2) Jurij Rodionov (AUT) – Zdenek Kolar (CZE) 6-4, 6-3
(5) Aleksandar Vukic (AUS) – (ALT) Louis Wessels (GER) 6-2, 6-7(4), 6-1
Andrea Collarini (ARG) – Alexey Vatutin 5-7, 7-6(4), 6-3
Qualifying – Final Round
Alexandar Lazarov (BUL) – Henrique Rocha (POR) 7-5, 6-4
Evgeny Karlovskiy – Kenny de Schepper (FRA) 7-6(4), 7-6(3)
Denis Istomin (UZB) – Denis Yevseyev (KAZ) 6-3, 6-3
Maximilian Neuchrist (AUT) – Andrea Picchione (ITA) 6-7(6), 7-6(5), 6-1
Gauthier Onclin (BEL) – Jaime Faria (POR) 6-0, 2-6, 6-2
Raphael Collignon (BEL) – Maik Steiner (GER) 6-4, 7-5
