VALENCIA/STARNBERG, November 24, 2023
Spanish teenager Martin Landaluce headlined Thursday’s second-round action at the Copa Faulcombridge Ciudad de Valencia by beating his compatriot Daniel Rincon. The 17-year-old wild card entry won 6-4, 6-4.
Former Junior World No. 1 Landaluce, who captured the 2022 US Open – Boys’ singles title, struck five aces and won 64 per cent of his first-service points to advance in one hour and 34 minutes.
Too good 👏#ATPChallenger pic.twitter.com/O2QThvxQF9
— ATP Challenger Tour (@ATPChallenger) November 23, 2023
The World No. 514 will appear in his second quarterfinal on the ATP Challenger Tour after Alicante, Spain last month.
“It’s been a year of immense learning,” Landaluce told Spanish Tennis Website Punto de Break this week. “I come from the junior circuit, which is entirely different. It has helped me shift my mentality and gather a wealth of experience for the upcoming year. I take away plenty of matches against top players. It’s also been a reality check because here, nothing is handed to you; it’s not like it was a year ago. You have to work hard on the court, with every point, but also off it, where every detail counts, no matter how small.”
Landaluce will next take on Kazakh qualifier Denis Yevseyev, who received a walkover from No. 7 seed Pedro Martinez. The Spaniard was forced to withdraw from the match due to personal reasons.
In other action, Italian veteran Fabio Fognini battled past Jozef Kovalik of Slovakia 6-1, 4-6, 6-3. The No. 8 seed converted six of his 13 break-point opportunities to secure victory in two hours and two minutes.
Fognini will next play Frenchman Pierre-Hugues Herbert, who eased past Bulgarian qualifier Adrian Andreev 6-1, 6-2. The encounter lasted one hour and eight minutes.
