NAPLES/STARNBERG, March 28, 2024
French teenager Arthur Gea headlined Thursday’s second-round action at the Napoli Tennis Cup by edging out No. 4 seed Fabio Fognini of Italy. The 19-year-old Carpentras native, who battled through the qualifying of the €148,625 ATP Challenger Tour clay-court event, overcame a slow start and broke Fognini’s serve seven times to succeed in two hours and 24 minutes.
👏 What 👏 A 👏 Moment 👏
Arthur Gea stuns Fognini 4-6, 6-2, 6-4 to reach his FIRST EVER quarterfinal in Naples #ATPChallenger | @FFTennis pic.twitter.com/XXE85N8ESS
— ATP Challenger Tour (@ATPChallenger) March 28, 2024
In his first Challenger quarterfinal, World No. 441 Gea will take on his compatriot and No. 8 seed Pierre-Hugues Herbert. The five-time Grand Slam doubles champion outlasted local wild card entry Franco Maestrelli 6-4, 3-6, 6-3 in two hours and 19 minutes.
Passaro passes Napolitano test
In the bottom half of the draw, Francesco Passaro emerged victorious from the all-Italian affair with Stefano Napolitano, winning 7-6(6), 0-6, 6-4. The 23-year-old alternate won 74 per cent of his first-service points and broke his rival two times to secure his spot in the quarterfinals after two hours and 31 minutes.
Up next for Passaro will be Frenchman Ugo Blanchet, who received a walkover from No. 3 seed Maximilian Marterer of Germany.
In first-round action, top seed Federico Coria opened his title bid with solid 6-3, 6-0 win over French qualifier Manuel Guinard. The World No. 87 from Argentina didn’t face a break point and capitalized on five of his own 11 break-point opportunities to advance in one hour and 15 minutes. Coria will next play Serbia’s Filip Krajinovic.
