MADRID, 20 Jun. (EUROPA PRESS) –
The Spanish tennis player Roberto Bautista began his career at the Mallorca Championships on Monday, a tournament scoring for the ATP and which is played on grass, with a hard-fought victory against the Japanese Taro Daniel (6-4, 7-6), while the veteran Feliciano López was eliminated against the Dutch Tallon Griekspoor in a disputed match decided in two ‘tie-breaks’.
The Castellón native, fifth seeded in the event, was not surprised by his rival, with a more competitive pace for having qualified from the previous one in a duel where the initiative was almost always from the Spaniard.
This did not end up being comfortable from the beginning and Daniel wasted a 0-40 on his first serve, although from then on Bautista was playing better and was able to break the Asian’s serve, an advantage that he did not waste to win the first set .
In the second, the Japanese continued to put up resistance and not only maintained equality until the player from Castellón broke with 4-4, but was also able to avoid the bye with a saving ‘break’ and have a dangerous 4/1 in the ‘tie -break’. There, the Spaniard reacted to make six consecutive points and seal his pass to the second round.
For his part, Feliciano López, invited by the organizers, could not accompany his partner to the second round after losing to the Dutchman Tallon Griekspoor in two sets that were decided in ‘sudden death’ (7/3 and 7/3) after a match without breaks.