MALAGA/STARNBERG, October 11, 2023

Nine months later, and after overcoming a right elbow injury that kept him sidelined from the courts for a significant part of the season, Pablo Carreno Busta is back gaining another victory on the circuit.

The 32-year-old Spaniard came to this week’s Malaga Open, an ATP Challenger Tour 125 hard-court tournament, to regain his competitive rhythm in the final stretch of the season. Carreno Busta won his opening match in the capital of the Costa del Sol, defeating the Frenchman Arthur Cazaux on Centre Court of the Inacua Malaga Tennis Complex on Tuesday.

✅ First win since the Australian Open#ATPChallenger | @pablocarreno91 pic.twitter.com/HjbwltyMT6

— ATP Challenger Tour (@ATPChallenger) October 10, 2023

After losing the first set 6-2, Carreno Busta recovered in the second to first break his opponent’s serve and then capitalize on the break with his own serve to take the set by the score of 6-4. Right at the beginning of the third set, the seven-time ATP Tour champion repeated the break to take an advantage that he would later confirm, to secure a 2-6, 6-4, 6-3 victory in two hours and 35 minutes. This has marked Carreno Busta’s first win since the first round of the Australian Open against Pedro Cachin.

The Gijón native will next face the Italian Mattia Bellucci, who knocked out Spaniard Roberto Carballes Baena 4-6, 6-3, 6-2.