SANT JOAN DESPÍ, December 17, 2015
Day 3 at the Spanish National Tennis Championships (Campeonato de Espana Mapfre Absoluto) ended with two upsets when the top-ranked players stepped into action to set the quarterfinals in the men’s draw.
Top seed and world number 42 Tommy Robredo, who played his opening match after he had received a bye in the first round, lost to only 18-year-old Jaume Munar 6-4, 6-7, 2-6. The world number 442 from Mallorca reached one semi-finals on the ITF Future Circuit this year in Lleida and also made his first appearances on the ATP World Tour due to wild cards, he was granted with the help from Rafael Nadal. At the ATP 500 event in Hamburg he made it into the second round, as fellow countryman Guillermo Garcia-López was forced to retire after only three games. Munar eventually lost in the second to Simone Bolelli in three sets. Munar will now take on Enrique López-Pérez, who defeated Pedro Martinez Portero 6-4, 6-2.
Second seed Albert Montanes was also eliminated in the second round when he lost to Marc Fornell-Mestres 6-1, 2-6, 6-7. Montanes led in the tie-break of the final set 3-1 but eventually lost it 5-7. 33-year-old Fornell-Mestres clinched his last ITF Future title in Iran in 2014 will face seventh seed Gerald Granollers next. The 26-year-old from Barcelona advanced to the stage of the final eight through a 7-6, 6-2 victory over Ricardo Villacorta.
Steven Diez, who raised in Spain and lives in Barcelona but currently represents with Canada his country of birth, knocked out sixth seed Jordi Samper-Montana, winning 6-2, 6-4 to set a quarterfinals clash with the tournament’s number three Adrian Menéndez-Maceiras. The 30-year-old from Marbella feels comfortable on the green set surface in Sant Joan Despí and beat Jorge Hernando in straight sets 6-2, 6-1.
Fourth seed Roberto Carballés-Baena defeated Bernabe Zapata Miralles 6-4, 6-3 to meet eighth seed David Perez-Sanz next. The 21-year-old captured five ITF Future titles in 2015 and had the better ending in his second round match with Marcos Giraldi, winning 6-4, 6-2.
