In Umag, the qualifications for the Croatia Open are at stake this weekend. At least if the weather permits, because it seemed to be an ugly spoilsport for a while. Tournament director Tomislav Poljak showed the photos on his phone of the damage the park sustained during the storm on Friday 21 July. Fences that normally surround the courts were flat against the ground and parasols/umbrellas flew all over the park. In addition, the rain did not exactly go unnoticed, but Poljak and his people did a fantastic job and as if nothing had happened, the first games could start on Saturday 22 July, albeit a little later than planned.
The only Dutchman in the singles is Jesper de Jong. Whether he will make it to the main tournament remains to be seen, but the start for Jesper is good. After a lost first set (4-6), he managed to win the match against Raul Brancaccio with 6-2 and 6-3. Today De Jong plays against Tomas Barrios Vera. For the fans of the Croatian Nino Serdarusic, the start of the tournament was less glorious and ended in a disappointment. He lost to the aforementioned Barrios Vera 6-4 and 6-2. His compatriot Jerko Brkic, who had received a wild card from the tournament management, fared not much better. He lost 6-2 twice against Kazakhstan’s Timofey Skatov. The Italian Luca Nardi also lost his match against his compatriot Flavio Cobolli (1-6; 5-7). Damir Dzumhur from Bosnia and Herzegovina, who always plays with a lot of energy and passion, had to face the Chilean Alejandro Tabilo, whom he narrowly defeated 6-4 in the decisive tiebreak; 4-6 and 7-6(4). That fame is fleeting and you are only as good as your last game was rubbed into Pablo Cuevas by Filip Misolic. Cuevas was the winner of the tournament in Umag in 2014, but now had to recognize his superior in the Austrian (7-5; 6-2). Victory (6-2; 4-6 and 7-6 (6) was also won by The Czech Zdenek Kolar defeated the Italian Andrea Vavassori (6-2; 4-6 and 7-6 (6)), who had trouble controlling his emotions. It resulted in a warning from the referee. Finally, it should be mentioned that the Argentinian Facundo Bagnis is also through to the second round by his win over Francesco Maestrelli (6-4; 6-1).
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