Sousa Scores First Win In Estoril

Portugal’s Joao Sousa secured his first win in four visits to the Millennium Estoril Open on Tuesday, defeating eighth seed Daniil Medvedev 7-6(1), 7-5.

The World No. 68 recovered from a break down in the first set, before reeling off six consecutive points from 1/1 in the tie-break to establish a one-set lead. Once more, the Guimaraes-born star encountered similar issues early in the second set. Sousa fought back from behind twice, before breaking for a 6-5 lead in the 11th game and comfortably serving out the win. The 29-year-old has now won 11 of his past 15 tour-level matches, which includes a run to the Grand Prix Hassan II semi-finals (l. to Andujar). Sousa will meet Portuguese wild card Pedro Sousa for a position in the quarter-finals.

Federico Delbonis also produced an upset in Estoril, beating fifth seed Albert Ramos-Vinolas 6-2, 6-4 in 85 minutes. The 27-year-old won 65 per cent of second-serve return points (17/26) and broke the Spaniard on six occasions to set a meeting with Simone Bolelli. The Italian saw off the challenge of home qualifier Joao Domingues 6-3, 6-2.

#NextGenATP star Stefanos Tsitsipas continued his fine form, defeating Grand Prix Hassan II champion Pablo Andujar 7-6(2), 6-3. The 19-year-old, who became the first Greek in history to rank inside the Top 50 of the ATP Rankings on Monday, traded breaks with the Spaniard early in the first set before dominating a crucial tie-break to secure a lead. The Barcelona Open finalist was clinical from that moment onwards, dropping just five points on serve and converting both his break point opportunities to move into the second round.

Chile’s Nicolas Jarry saved six match points to upset Leonardo Mayer of Argentina 3-6, 7-6(7), 6-4. Mayer led by a set and 6-5 (40/0) before Jarry battled back, saving four match points to break and a further two in the tie-break, to force a decider. The 22-year-old held his nerve in the third set, saving three break points to reach 3-3 before breaking in the ninth game and serving out the match.

Ecuador Open champion Roberto Carballes Baena took one hour and 37 minutes to get past American Bjorn Fratangelo 7-6(1), 6-3. The 25-year-old recovered from 0-4 down in the opening set and saved two set points at 5-6 before dominating the tie-break and comfortably securing the second set. Carballes Baena will meet Cameron Norrie in the next round. The Brit defeated sixth seed Robin Haase 6-4, 3-6, 6-3.

Argentina’s Nicolas Kicker set up a second-round encounter with defending champion and second seed Pablo Carreno Busta, after beating qualifier Tim Smyczek 6-2, 6-2. The World No. 93 saved all five break points he faced to advance after just 67 minutes.

Did You Know?
Defending champion Pablo Carreno Busta holds an 11-2 record at the Millennium Estoril Open. The Spaniard has improved his result at the event in each of the past three editions, having reached the semi-finals in 2015 (l. to Kyrgios) and the 2016 final (l. to Almagro), before lifting the trophy 12 months ago (d. Muller).