Chile's Tabilo Upsets Countryman Garin To Reach Santiago QFs

  • Posted: Feb 25, 2022

Chile’s Tabilo Upsets Countryman Garin To Reach Santiago QFs

Feb252022

Martinez, Kecmanovic also advance

In an all-Chilean battle Thursday in Santiago, Alejandro Tabilo upset top seed and defending champion Cristian Garin, 6-3, 6-3 to reach the quarter-finals.

It’s the second time the 24-year-old has knocked off a No. 1 seed during the Golden Swing in Latin America, a Cordoba victory over Diego Schwartzman sending him into his first career ATP Tour final earlier this month.

Against World No. 27 Garin at the Chile Dove Men+Care Open, Tabilo dropped the first two games of the match but then won five in succession to take control of the opening set. After breaking to love for 4-2, two love service holds sealed the set.

Both men saved break points early in the second, before Tabilo made the breakthrough — again to love — to edge in front. Quickly seizing his opportunity, he booked his quarter-final place with his fourth break of the match on a clever drop shot.

Dominant on his first serve with a 79 per cent win rate (23/29), the Toronto-born Chilean feasted on a buffet of second-serve deliveries from his opponent. Tabilo won 70 per cent of those second-serve return points (16/23) as Garin made just more than half of his first serves.

Sixth seed Miomir Kecmanovic awaits in the last eight, after the Serb rolled to a 6-2, 6-0 win over Brazilian qualifier Matheus Pucinelli De Almeida.

Pedro Martinez, the Spanish fourth seed, won the only three-setter of the day, 6-4, 5-7, 7-5, over countryman Jaume Munar. In a three-and-a-half hour match, Martinez saved a break point as he served out the match to reach his first ATP Tour quarter-final since October (Moscow).

Yannick Hanfmann will be his next opponent after the German powered past Brazilian wild card Thiago Seyboth Wild, 6-1, 6-3. It will be the 30-year-old’s first quarter-final since Bastad in July.

“I feel pretty comfortable. I was serving really well and also returning pretty good,” said the World No. 115, who entered the event with a protected ranking. “In these conditions it’s important to do the first strokes well: serve, return, first ball. I think all of these things I did really well. 

“Maybe he was a little bit uncomfortable with my aggressive game style, I don’t know. That’s where I shined in the altitude.”

On court for just over an hour, the German figures to be the fresher man on Friday, when all four Santiago quarter-finals are scheduled.

“I think the two hours that I missed [compared to Martinez’s match time], I will practise now, so that we’re even for tomorrow,” he joked.

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