Donskoy Shines During Geneva Qualifying
Adam Addicott, Tennis Atlantic
Top seed Evgeny Donskoy was the only seeded player to survive two rounds of qualifying at the Geneva Open.
The Russian has endured a slow start to his clay season by winning only one match at his past two tournaments. His sole win occurred in the first round of the Barcelona Open when he defeated Argentina’s Facundo Bagnis. The slow start is finally starting to increase in momentum after his successful qualifying campaign in Geneva. In the first round, Donskoy played 18-year-old wildcard Manuel Pena Lopez, a player who reached a junior ranking high of 11th earlier this year. The experience of the top seed stood out in the match as he overcame Lopez 7-6(3), 6-3.
The triumph set Donskoy up with a second round showdown against Bosnian player Tomislav Brkić. The world No.79 required over two hours to see off Brkic 6-3, 3-6, 7-6(3), to reach the main draw.
The 26-year-old has a poor record in the main draw of ATP tournaments this year with a win-loss of 1-8.
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Joining the top seed will be three underdogs. Germany’s Andreas beck will play in his first ATP main draw since the 2015 Montpellier Open. Beck is a former top-40 player, but has since fallen down the rankings due to a series of injury problems. His milestone achievement started with a 6-4, 6-4, win over world No. 272 and sixth seed Ivan Nedelko.
The triumph elevated Beck to a second round clash against Yann Marti, who upset second seed Marco Chiudinelli in his opemning match. Marti was no match for Beck as the world No.325 eased to a 6-1, 6-2, win.
19-year-old Christian Garin was the only player to defeat two seeded players to reach the main draw. Since rising to prominence in 2013 after winning the French Open boys’ title, the Chilean is yet to make his breakthrough on the pro tour. Currently ranked 342nd in the world, Garin started his Swiss campaign with an impressive 6-2, 6-1, win over seventh seed Michal Konecny, a player who has won two titles on the Future tour this year.
Next up for Garin was third seed Florian Mayer, who returned to the tour earlier this month after being sidelined with a right adductor tendon. Recovering from a set and a break down, Garin battled back to upset the third seed 3-6, 6-4, 6-3.
There is some consolation for Mayer, who has been awarded a lucky loser spot in the main draw after Philipp Kohlschreiber withdrew from the tournament due to an arm injury.
Finally, Roberto Ortega-Olmedo will play his first main draw match on the ATP Tour after his duo of wins. The 25-year-old overcame a slow start to stun fourth seed Michael Linzer 3-6, 6-2, 6-4, after two hours and 20 minutes of play.
Fortunately for the Spaniard, his second round match was more straightforward as he defeated Swiss wildcard Johan Nikles 6-2, 7-6(6).
Ortega-Olmedo has won seven Futures titles in his career and is yet to play in a grand slam tournament.
Q Christian Garin CHI Vs Pablo Carreno Busta ESP
Q Andreas Beck GER Vs Inigo Cervantes ESP
Q Roberto Ortega Olmedo ESP Vs Lukas Rosol CZE
Q Evgeny Donskoy RUS Vs Rajeev Ram USA
LL Florian Mayer GER Vs Denis Istomin UZB
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