David Ferrer, sporting director of the tournament, breathed a sigh of relief when the Greek Stefanos Tsitsipas resolved his battle against the Belarusian Ylya Ivashka for 6-1, 4-6 and 6-2 at 2h.12 ‘ of the real game, which spread over 26 minutes played on Wednesday, with a double delay due to rain, and a conclusion ‘in extremis’ this Thursday after nearly seven hours of waiting for bad weather to give the tennis.
At 9:25 p.m., the job is done. The Greek classification fixed a good portion of the chaos in the program caused by the rain. This allowed the eighth table to be completed, with sixteen survivors beginning on Friday on equal terms, in a double session that would include the eighth and the quarter, from twelve noon.
Tsitsipas, first seeded in the tournament and recent Monte Carlo champion, for the second consecutive edition, will face the Bulgarian in the round of 16 Grigor Dimitrovwho benefited from a small gap without severe rain to end the match against the Argentine Federico Coria. Suspended the previous day with 4-6, 6-3 and 4-3 with a break up, the Central European finished the final set 6-4.
In Track 1 (baptized Jan Kodes as a tribute to the Czech, champion fifty years ago) Dimitrov finished the job. And that’s where Tsitsipas went when he was better than the central defender. The explanation is that one is a common track in el RCT Barcelona-1899, while the central prepares for the occasion from the club’s two fixed courts.
This caused little excitement from the public, as the capacity of the smallest was 3,000 viewers, and not the 8,000 who can enter Rafael Nadal, but saved the sporting agenda so as not to give an advantage to any tennis player. And the organization announced over the loudspeaker that ticket money would be returned to anyone who requested it despite the fact that there was more than an hour of tennis playing, the limit for return was mandatory or, as it happened, volunteer for the tournament, due to little sporting activity and the constant change in the order of the game, on stage and in schedules. Rain is the worst opponent of an outdoor tennis event, with no roof.
With Tsitsipas passing, the final option on Monday lost weight. The title has not been resolved later than expected since then Albert Costa beat Albert Ports in 1997.
Source: La Verdad
I am Ida Scott, a journalist and content author with a passion for uncovering the truth. I have been writing professionally for Today Times Live since 2020 and specialize in political news. My career began when I was just 17; I had already developed a knack for research and an eye for detail which made me stand out from my peers.
