Andrey Rublev was the favorite in his match against Ugo Carabelli, as was Luciano Darderi against Duje Ajdokovic. Both lived up to their role as favorites. Although Carabelli occasionally went along with Rublev’s forehand violence, Rublev’s hard and deep strokes were just a bit too much for him. Carabelli managed to break Rublev, but that was not enough for the victory. Rublev broke back immediately at 2-3 and then forced a break himself. Also in the second set, the difference was one break in Rublev’s favor, so he eventually won the match quite easily (7-5, 6-4).
We know Rublev as a very serious tennis player who is especially critical of himself. Sometimes you wonder whether he actually has fun playing tennis, but today we really saw him laughing on the court. Off the track, he does this for his fans on a regular basis, because during a meet and greet, which was attended by many fans, he had a smile for everyone, an autograph (on whatever) and a photo opportunity.
Luciano Darderi from Italy had to compete against Croatian Duje Ajdukovic. The Italian played solidly, but the Croatian made too many unnecessary mistakes, especially at the beginning of the match, allowing Darderi to easily win the first set 6-1. He faced more resistance in the second set, but still defeated the Croat 6-4. Frenchman Luca van Assche could not really make it difficult for former tournament winner (2016) Fabio Fognini. Even a ball hitting hard at the body the old tennis player (Fognini is now 37 years old) did not parry by jumping to the side and making room for his stroke, but he spread his legs a little and hit the ball nonchalantly between his legs. He also won the point and made it clear that he was determined to win the mat, and that is exactly what he did: 6-4, 6-3. Just like for Van Assche, the tournament is over for the Brazilian Thiago Monteiro. He lost to the Hungarian Fabian Marozsan (6-2, 7-6 (7)).
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