SAN BENEDETTO, July 13, 2015
The Italian ATP Challenger Tour swing continues on the red clay in San Benedetto, one of the favourite holiday destinations of Italian and European tourists.
The town with a population of about 47,000 people is still hidden behind a veil of mystery. Legend tells, that it rose in 1200, when the remains of Benedict were found, a soldier of the Roman garrison who was executed, as he refused to recant his Christian faith. The body was placed in a catacomb and first few huts and houses appeared at this place in the following to found the village of San Benedetto.
Nowadays, the city gives the best of itself during the summer period, thanks to the spectacular seafront with large avenues lined up with over 7,000 palm trees. This exotic look, including the largest palm in the world with a circumference of 4.74 metres, led to the region’s nickname “Riviera delle Palme” (Riviera of the Palms).
The main draw of the San Benedetto Tennis Cup, a € 64,000 ATP Challenger event, takes place the week from July 13 to July 19 at the Circolo Tennis Maggioni, a club founded in 1933 in the park of the Villa Comunale. The property has been extended on several occasions. Today, it has eight clay courts (two indoors), two in synthetic grass, a club house, summer kiosk and a fully equipped gym. Centre Court has two main stands with about 1,300 seats. The admission is free for the entire duration of the tournament.
Centre Court San Benedetto (photo: youtennis.net)
Main draw took place on Saturday. Daniel Gimeno-Traver, who did not travel with the Spanish Davis Cup team to Vladivostok for the relegation tie against Russia, was granted a wild card and is the tournament’s top-seed, facing a qualifier in the opening round.
The Spaniard is one of six top 100-players in the draw. Second seed is his fellow countryman Albert Ramos, who will take on Italian wild card Edoardo Eremin in the first round.
Third favourite is Benoit Paire. The 26-year-old Frenchman will play Filippo Volandri for the third time. The Italian veteran leads 2-0 in head to head records, winning in Todi and Orbetello in 2011.
Fourth seed Damir Dzumhur will face Thomas Fabbiano. It will be the pair’s third tour meeting. Both players could celebrate one victory in the past. The last was won by the Bosnian in the 2014 quarterfinals in Mersin.
