Eighth-seeded Bernabe Zapata Miralles rallied to win an all-Spanish matchup in the first round of Cordoba (Argentina) Open on Monday, defeating Roberto Carballes Baena 6-7 (6), 6-3, 7-5.
Zapata Miralles squandered a set point in the first-set tiebreaker, but he won the last four games of the second set to even the match. Carballes Baena broke serve to open the third set and was still on top until Zapata Miralles broke back for 4-4. A break in the last game sealed the victory for Zapata Miralles.
The win was the first of the year for Zapata Miralles. He was 0-3 before Monday, including a loss to Carballes Baena in the opening round at Pune, India, last month.
In other first-round action, Serbia’s Dusan Lajovic defeated Peru’s Juan Pablo Varillas 7-6 (3), 6-3, and Argentina’s Juan Manuel Cerundolo advanced when Spain’s Pablo Andujar retired while trailing 6-4, 1-0.
In the last match of the night, Italy’s Luciano Darderi ousted France’s Hugo Gaston 6-4, 6-3.
Open Sud de France
Wild-card entrant Arthur Fils topped French countryman Richard Gasquet 7-5, 7-5 in the opening round at Montpellier, France.
Fils, an 18-year-old ranked 163rd in the world, is appearing in the main draw of an ATP Tour event for just the second time. He qualified for the ATP Masters 1000 Paris last summer before losing a three-set match to Italy’s Fabio Fognini in the first round.
In the day’s only other match at Montpellier, Georgia’s Nikoloz Basilashvili came from behind to beat France’s Constant Lestienne 6-7 (3), 7-5, 6-2.
Dallas Open
Nebraska native Jack Sock eked out a 7-6 (2), 4-6, 6-4 win over Belarus’ Ilya Ivashka in the first round at Dallas.
Sock overcame amassing more double faults (10) than aces (nine) and survived a tense end to the match.
The score was level 4-4 in the third set before Sock won a 22-point game, saving five break points, to go up 5-4. He then broke serve in the next game to wrap up a 3-hour, 3-minute win.
–Field Level Media
