Taberner Steamrolls Into Roland Garros Main Draw
With a decisive 6-1, 6-0 win over Joao Menezes, Carlos Taberner moved into the main draw of Roland Garros on Thursday. Taberner has lost just six games across three matches to qualify, spending a total of three hours and 16 minutes on court.
The 23-year-old Spaniard beat Martin Klizan 6-1, 6-2 and Thomas Fabbiano 6-2, 6-0 before taking out Brazil’s Menezes. The World No. 137 has appeared in the main draw of a Grand Slam once before, at Roland Garros in 2018. Earlier this year, he picked up his second ATP Challenger Tour title in Antalya.
Bjorn Fratangelo became one of eight men to qualify on Thursday when he topped Australia’s Aleksandar Vukic 6-2, 7-6(3).
Paris is a special place for the 27-year-old American. He won the junior event in 2011 and five years later, after reaching the second round, he cracked the Top 100 in the FedEx ATP Rankings for the first time. Aside from Delray Beach and Miami, Fratangelo has played on the ITF and ATP Challenger Tour for most of the season, winning the title in Cleveland (d. Brooksby) and reaching the final in Tallahassee (l. to Brooksby).
[WATCH LIVE 1]Fifth seed Taro Daniel booked his place in the main draw with a 7-6(7), 6-1 win over France’s Quentin Halys. Japan’s Daniel has reached the second round in Paris on two occasions (2016 and 2017).
Germany’s Maximilian Marterer dismissed Brazil’s Felipe Meligeni Rodrigues Alves 6-2, 6-1. Marterer made a run to the fourth round of Roland Garros in 2018 (l. to Nadal). Oscar Otte, a 27-year-old from Germany, had little trouble ousting No. 12 seed Hugo Dellien 6-2, 6-0. At Roland Garros in 2019, Otte reached the second round for his best major performance (l. to Federer).
The final day of qualifying is Friday with Spanish teenager Carlos Alcaraz facing Chile’s Alejandro Tabilo, American Jenson Brooksby taking on France’s Evan Furness and both Cerundolo brothers in action: Juan Manuel Cerundolo faces Switzerland’s Henri Laaksonen and Francisco Cerundolo plays Italy’s Alessandro Giannessi.