ATP Bastad 🇸🇪 Round of 32 Results
Yannick Hanfmann d Thiago Monteiro 6-2 7-5
Hanfmann can be underrated, and has gone deep on many good ATP tournaments on clay, so it was good to see him off to a flyer, staying consistent, and making the most of his break points (4/5). Monteiro is just not quite up to the scratch against the next gen. The 29yo has a 7/10 W/L ratio, but can go on streaks, which is something to look forward to given a reasonably fortunate draw, coming up against Jiri Vesely in the 2nd round.
Marco Cecchinato d Richard Gasquet (5) 6-2 5-7 6-3
Gasquet has started to begin his descend outside the top 50, and towards the top 100 with a loss to Cecchinato. Cecchinato is not easy opponent, and has had a good clay season. After clawing the second set, the Frenchman still had a big task. The 35yo was no match for the Italian in the final set.
Elias Ymer d Taro Daniel 6-2 6-7(6) 6-4
One of the Swedish bros stepped up to the court, and have all the crowd (25% capacity) behind them. Although the crowd cannot push them over the line, Ymer actually grew up 30mins drive from Bastud, and has some motivations to win. Ymer serving 8 aces and creating 11 break point opportunities in the lengthy encounter.
Norbert Gombos d Pablo Cuevas 1-6 7-6(4) 6-2
Cuevas started off strong, fiery as always. Cuevas was serving for the match at 5-4, but Gombos had other ideas, breaking to 30. From here, the momentum slowly shifted, and after the second set tiebreaker, his one-handed backhand was wearing thin, and creating more errors. Gombos was on the attack, and dominated the third set, breaking in the first game of the third set, and twice in total in the third set.
Pedro Martinez d Denis Novak 7-5 6-1
Martinez has been playing well this season, staying that top 100, but Novak ranks just outside. Novak was serving arguably better than Martinez, but it was the Spaniard creating and converting the most break points (5/8) compared to (2/4). Martinez faces Cristian Garin (2) in the second round.
Arthur Rinderknech d Pedro Sousa 6-1 6-1
Rinderknech is having a breakthrough year, reaching his career high ranking of 105 a couple days ago.
From the get-go, the Frenchman clearly looked superior, and he did not stop, serving 5 aces and a whopping 10 break point opportunities compared to 1.
Jiri Vesely (7) d Salvatore Caruso 6-3 6-2
Vesely's win did not necessarily reflect a bit of a close scoreline. Caruso actually won more receiving points on Vesely's seve than Vesely did of Caruso. Vesely just had that bit extra on his serve to break three times in the match, and had the ability to convert and save break points. The Czech converted 3/3 break points, and saved 5/5, an exceptional statistic!
Roberto Carballes Baena d Facundo Bagnis 6-2 6-4
Carballes Baena controlling the game from start to finish. A clinical performance. Serving well, returning well, and creating & converting break points. Some great consistency to see at the start of a tournament, that many are in the run with a chance. Baena faces Fabio Fognini (3) in the Second Round.
Federico Coria d Francisco Cerundolo 6-4 6-4
A battle of the Argentinians in Sweden, as the better ranked Coria had all the chances, convering 3/12 break points, and serving mildly better than his compatriot.
Holger Rune d Radu Albot 4-6 6-3 6-0
The crowd were definitely behind the 18yo in his comeback win over the Moldovian. Rune having a great comeback, loving the momentum shifts. This could be difficult in his next matchup against 1st seed Casper Ruud, who he only took 3 games from the world no 16 in their clay match in April earlier this year.
Henri Laaksonen d Lorenzo Musetti (6) 6-2 3-6 6-4
Laaksonen started strongly, ensuring his aggression against the Italian was known, and pushed the 19yo around early, breaking twice in the first set. Musetti did compose himself in the second set, gaining a crucial break to serve for the second set. Ultimately, it was the Swiss man with the experience to close the match out. There were many shifts in momentum, with 10 of the 29 games being breaks of serve.
Emil Ruusivuori (8) d Mikael Ymer 1-6 6-4 6-3
Ruusivuori kept a strong mind against the Swede player and the Swede crowd. Ruusivuori only has a 29% win rate on grass, and it is clear he loves to hit it hard as he is naturally a hard court player, but it was enough to knock out the world no 94.
