The first round of the qualifying tournament in Umag has been played. This meant the end of the tournament for some big names right away. The 2018 winner, the Italian Marco Checchinato, fell to Luca van Assche from France (6-3, 7-6(3)). Another big name from the past is also out. The Argentine Federico Coria was defeated with a clear score of 2-6, 1-6 by Giulio Zeppieri from Italy. His compatriot Marco Trungelitti managed to reach the second round of the main tournament last year (where he lost to Lorenzo Musseti). This year however he was eliminated immediately. Luka Mikrut received a wildcard and made the most of it. In front of his home crowd, the Croatian defeated Trungelitti 7-6(2) and 6-2. Although he had to find his rhythm, the Spaniard Pablo Llamas Ruiz ultimately proved too strong for the Frenchman Kyria Jacquet (3-6, 6-3, and 7-6(2)). Jacquet’s compatriot did succeed in his first-round match against the German Niels Mc Donald (6-4, 6-3). The Italian Federico Arnaboldi lost to Vilius Gaubas with a score of 6-3, 6-2, but his compatriot Andrea Pellegrino performed better against the Ukrainian Vitaliy Sacho, although the victory was close and he needed three sets for it (6-2, 2-6, and 7-6(1)). Alvaro Guillen Meza managed to win against Ugo Blanchet 6-4, 3-6, and 6-2. Besides for himself, that’s very nice for tennis photography because with almost every shot he comes half a meter off the ground. Below you can see a collage of photos from the first qualifying round.
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