No. 8 seed Nuno Borges of Portugal withstood a challenge from three-time Grand Slam winner Stan Wawrinka of Switzerland, prevailing 6-7 (4), 7-6 (1), 6-3 in first-round action at the Open 13 Provence on Tuesday in Marseille, France.
Wawrinka, playing as a wild card as he continues to attempt a comeback from injuries, had 12 aces and led the second set 4-1 before Borges stormed back to force a tiebreaker. By then, all the momentum belonged to Borges, and he finished the match having won a whopping 72 of 99 total service points (72.7 percent).
Two other matches Tuesday went the distance: China’s Zhizhen Zhang fended off France’s Quentin Halys 6-3, 6-7 (2), 7-6 (3), and lucky loser Luca Van Assche rallied past fellow Frenchman Benjamin Bonzi 3-6, 6-3, 7-6 (7).
Belgium’s Zizou Bergs, Kazakhstan’s Alexander Bublik and Germans Daniel Altmaier and Jan-Lennard Struff also advanced.
Delray Beach Open
Spanish eighth seed Alejandro Davidovich Fokina saved 2 of 3 break points and converted all three of his break-point opportunities in defeating Japanese lucky loser Taro Daniel 6-2, 7-6 (2) in the round of 32 in Florida.
No. 9 seed Arthur Rinderknech of France topped Kazakhstan’s Dmitry Popko 6-2, 6-4, and Yoshihito Nishioka of Japan was a 6-3, 6-4 winner over Australian Aleksandar Vukic. China’s Yunchaokete Bu needed 59 minutes to race past Australia’s Rinky Hijikata 6-2, 6-0.
In evening action, the U.S. wild-card entrants prevailed. Mackenzie McDonald toppled Japan’s Kei Nishikori 7-6 (4), 4-6, 7-5, and Reilly Opelka won an all-U.S. matchup against Christopher Eubanks 6-3, 7-6 (7). Eubanks couldn’t take advantage of a set point at 6-7 in the second-set tiebreaker.
IEB+ Argentina Open
No. 6 seed Sebastian Baez emerged with a 6-4, 6-4 win over Argentine countryman Camilo Ugo Carabelli during the first round on a rainy day in Buenos Aires. Baez saved 6 of 7 break points he faced while breaking Carabelli three times.
Fifth-seeded Francisco Cerundolo of Argentina defeated Italy’s Luciano Darderi 6-4, 6-4. In a matchup of Argentine qualifiers, Juan Manuel Cerundolo earned a rain-delayed 7-6 (4), 5-7, 7-5 victory over Roman Andres Burruchaga.
Spaniard Pedro Martinez was just beginning a third-set tiebreak against Damir Dzumhur of Bosnia and Herzegovina when their match was halted due to rain. They will conclude the contest on Wednesday.
–Field Level Media
