Pellegrino upsets Comesana for biggest win of career in Santiago
Wednesday was a milestone day for Andrea Pellegrino at the BCI Seguros Chile Open at the BCI Seguros Chile Open where he battled to secure a win he will not soon forget.
The 28-year-old, after letting slip a match point in a tense second set, rallied to upset seventh seed Francisco Comesana 7-6(3), 6-7(3), 6-3 at the clay-court ATP 250. With the victory, the Italian qualifier marched into his maiden tour-level quarter-final.
“It was a very tough match,” Pellegrino said. “A great battle. I want to say thanks to my friends who came to support me. Without them, it was very tough. Their support is something amazing.”
In his maiden Lexus ATP Head2Head meeting with the Argentine, Pellegrino squandered a match point at 5-2 in the second set, then dropped serve while serving for the match in the next game. But he regrouped, earned two breaks in the deciding set and sealed the biggest win of his career in two hours and 51 minutes.
Pellegrino, who captured the doubles title in Santiago in 2023 with Andrea Vavassori, is now at a career-high No. 123 in the PIF ATP Live Rankings. The Italian will face Mariano Navone or second-seeded Luciano Darderi in the quarter-finals.
Earlier, Yannick Hanfmann upset fourth seed Camilo Ugo Carabelli 6-4, 6-3 in the second round. With the victory, he became the fourth player to reach at least three quarter-finals in tournament history, joining Sebastian Baez, Laslo Djere and Thiago Monteiro.
Watch Hanfmann vs. Ugo Carabelli highlights:
The German, who converted three of seven break point opportunities against Ugo Carabelli and won 10 of 13 points at the net according to Infosys ATP Stats, will face lucky loser Vilius Gaubas in the last eight. The 21-year-old Gaubas rallied past Dino Prizmic 5-7, 7-5, 6-3
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