Rafa Nadal already knows who will be his rival in his debut at the Rolex Paris Masters 2020. The Balearic will face an old acquaintance and great friend, also Spanish Feliciano López, who began his career in the Parisian Masters 1,000 with victory.
López beat Serbian Filip Krajinovic in two sets 7-6 (11) and 6-1 after one hour and 25 minutes in a match in which, after taking the first set forward, he managed to impose his superiority in the second set to seal the victory. López, intractable on serve with 21 aces and 100% of points won with his first serve, was also very confident to the rest, converting 3 of the four break balls available to him.
After coming back from a break in the second game, Feli held on like a titan in the tie-break of the first set, where he managed to save up to 6 set balls from Krajinovic to close with his third ball to win the heat. This fact gave more morale to 'Feli', who after breaking Krajinovic's serve in the second game of the second set, left the match on track. Another break in the sixth game allowed López to close the match with his serve with the first match ball he had. On his way in Paris, Rafa Nadal will now meet, who is looking for his first title on the hard court in Bercy.
Carreño devastates Gaston
Pablo Carreño, ninth seed, had no problem getting rid of the 20-year-old 160th in the world Hugo Gaston, whom he beat 6-3 6-2 in 69 minutes. The man from Gijón, who had never faced this Frenchman who surprised at Roland Garros with his qualification for the second round after eliminating Wawrinka, was solid and overcame a bad start when he lost his serve in the first game of the match. From the initial 0-2, he dominated with a 12-5 run to take the win thanks to his four breaks. Carreño will meet German Jan-Lennard Struff in the second round, who got rid of Georgian Nikoloz Basilashvili 6-4 6-2. “He shot me very hard, he is known for the result of Roland Garros and this surface is nothing like it. I had seen him 'indoor' matches, and the first games were not what I expected, then I was able to dominate the points” said the Asturian in statements collected by EFE.
Davidovich gets his doctorate from Khachanov
Alejandro Davidovich continues to give joy in a 2020 that is clearly the year of his takeoff. The man from Malaga achieved the second victory of his career against top-20 Karen Khachanov, the 11th favorite of the tournament, whom he beat 6-3, 2-6 and 6-2. Alex broke the Russian's serve three times and will face the French guest Benjamin Bonzi in the second round, who did not give the Argentinean option, Federico Coria (6-2 and 6-1). With this triumph, the Andalusian tennis player is provisionally among the top 60 in the ranking (he is virtually 59th) and He is already the sixth best Spaniard in the table after Nadal (2), Bautista (13), Carreño (15), Ramos (46) and Andújar (57), which this Tuesday at 11:00 (Movistar Deportes) is measured with the Japanese Nishioka.
Ramos can not with Giron
Worse luck had another of the Spaniards present in Paris, Albert Ramos. The Catalan fell to the American Marcos Giron in three sets 6-3, 4-6 and 6-1 after almost two hours of the game. Ramos was outmatched in the first set and in the second he knew how to resist to force the third and final set, where Giron, who finished with 12 direct aces and 78% of points won with his first service in addition to converting 5 of the eight break balls he had, gave him no choice. The American will now meet in the second round with Italian Matteo Berrettini, seventh seed for the title.
Results of the 1,000 Masters in Paris.