Mannarino Survives In Sofia
Adrian Mannarino recovered from a set down to book his place in the Sofia Open second round on Monday.
The Nur-Sultan runner-up struck 10 aces and broke serve on four occasions to outlast Martin Klizan 3-6, 6-1, 7-5 in two hours and nine minutes. Mannarino, who is making his fifth straight appearance in Sofia, improved to 8-3 since the start of last month’s bett1HULKS Championship in Cologne.
Mannarino will face Egor Gerasimov for a place in the quarter-finals. The Belarusian saved two of three break points to beat Viktor Troicki 6-3, 3-6, 6-3 in one hour and 43 minutes.
Another win for the Flat Ball Society ?
No.5 seed @AdrianMannarino survives a 3-6 6-1 7-5 nail-biter against 2016 semi-finalist Klizan.#SofiaOpen pic.twitter.com/FwTmctDXN2
— Tennis TV (@TennisTV) November 9, 2020
In his first match on the ATP Tour, Jonas Forejtek stunned eighth seed Marin Cilic 6-3, 6-2 to reach the second round. The #NextGenATP Czech converted four of his five break points to eliminate the former World No. 3 in 66 minutes.
Lucky loser Marc-Andrea Huesler saved two match points to overcome seventh seed Nikoloz Basilashvili 6-1, 4-6, 7-6(6). The Swiss landed 22 aces throughout the match to reach the second round. Huesler will face Marton Fucsovics or Jannik Sinner for a spot in the quarter-finals.
[WATCH LIVE 2]Vasek Pospisil also required a final-set tie-break to earn his first victory of the tournament. The 30-year-old, who recovered from 0/40 down at 5-5 in the final set, saved eight of 10 break points to beat Ilya Marchenko 6-2, 5-7, 7-6(5).
Pospisil will meet fourth seed Jan-Lennard Struff in the second round. The Canadian is tied at 1-1 in his ATP Head2Head series against Struff.
Salvatore Caruso produced a 4-6, 6-4, 6-4 comeback victory against Bulgarian wild card Dimitar Kuzmanov. The 27-year-old will meet second seed Felix Auger-Aliassime in his next match.