MADRID, April 15, 2022
The top two seeds of the I Open Comunidad de Madrid have both booked their spots in the semi-finals of the €45,730 ATP Challenger clay-court event. Roberto Carballes Baena delighted his home crowd on Pista Central at the Club Campo Villa de Madrid with a 6-4, 6-4 victory over fellow wild card entry and sixth-seeded Frenchman Lucas Pouille.
On a sunny Good Friday in the Spanish capital city, the No. 1 seed from Tenerife capitalized on three of his five break-point chances and won 52 per cent of the total points played to advance after one hour and 36 minutes.
Top seed Roberto Carballés Baena 🇪🇸 defeats Lucas Pouille 🇫🇷 to reach the semis of the Open Comunidad de Madrid.
Uo next: Pedro Cachin 🇦🇷#ATPChallenger #Madrid 🐻🍓@fedetenismadrid @ccvmoficial pic.twitter.com/OnaVQYdMjk
— Florian Heer (@Florian_Heer) April 15, 2022
“I am pleased, as I played well in a difficult match,” said Carballes Baena afterwards. “This match will give some confidence, as I beat a tough opponent. I am really looking forward today’s match.”
The World No. 78 will next play Pedro Cachin of Argentina, who overcame a slow start to outlast Manuel Guinard of France 6-7(5), 6-1, 6-1 in two hours and three minutes.
Monteiro beats Ofner
In the bottom half of the draw, No. 2 seed Thiago Monteiro defeated Sebastian Ofner of Austria, who was competing in his only second tournament after being sidelined from the courts due to a foot injury for seven months. The 114th-ranked Brazilian won 77 per cent of his second-service points and broke his rival four times to prevail after one hour and 19 minutes.
Monteiro will take on Marco Trungelliti of Argentina in the stage of the final four. The 32-year-old Santiago del Estero native edged past Christopher O’Connell of Australia 6-7(7), 6-4, 6-2. The last encounter of the day lasted two hours and 46 minutes.
In Saturday’s doubles final Adam Pavlasek from the Czech Republic and Igor Zelenay of Slovakia will challenge No. 2 seeds Rafael Matos from Brazil and Spaniard David Vega Hernandez for the title.
