With three Argentines and a Grand Slam champion on the field, the Open Argentina will complete the round of 16 this Thursday… rain permitting. The day, which began half an hour late due to the downpour that fell around 1 pm and made the brick dust on the fields rather wet, opens with the clash between the Austrians Dominic Thiemwinner of US Open 2020 and the Peruvian John Paul Varillasappetizer for presentations of diego schwartzmann, Francis Cerundolo AND Pedro Cachin.
Thiem, one of the guests of the organization, beat the Slovak 7-6 (7-4) and 6-3 in his debut Alex Molcan, seeded seventh. The former world number three (now 99th, after a couple of seasons complicated by injuries and lack of regularity) wants to add his third title in the Buenos Aires tournament, won in 2016 and 2018.
Varillas entered the draw after qualifying and defeated the Portuguese in the first round João Sousa by 6-2 and 7-5.
Cerúndolo, 30th in the world, will be the first national representative to take the field. Fifth favourite, he will clash with the Spaniard Jaume Munar67th in the standings, not earlier than 15th.
The porteño had to work on his debut to beat the German 6-2, 4-6 and 7-5 Yannick Hanfmann, coming from the qualy. And his rival shot Guido Pellewho had received a wild card, for 6-4 and 7-5.
The night session will open with the clash between Cachín and Lorenzo Musetto, around 18.30. Cordovan, 68th, started with a 7-6 (7-2) and 6-4 victory against the Brazilian Thiago Monteiro (78th) and will try to hit the 20-year-old Italian, third seeded, 20th in the standings and one of the jewels of the Next generation.
Closing the day will mark the debut of four-seeded and 2021 contest champion Schwartzman. small32nd in the standings and one of the favorite players of the Buenos Aires public, he will face the Spaniards not before 20:00 Bernabe Zapata74th, which comes from beating his compatriot 6-1, 3-6 and 6-4 Pedro Martinez.
Schwartzman, who didn’t have a good start to the season (he won only one of the four games he played, in Australian Open), is enthusiastic about recovering the good sensations on the pitch, in a tournament where he is always at ease and has a very favorable balance: he has played in the final in three of the last four editions.
Source: Clarin
Jason Root is the go-to source for sports coverage at News Rebeat. With a passion for athletics and an in-depth knowledge of the latest sports trends, Jason provides comprehensive and engaging analysis of the world of sports.