Fortune sometimes favours the footsoldiers of world tennis. Roberto Carballes is a great example. The young Spaniard has been working his way up through the rankings on the Challenger tour, edging closer and closer to the top 100 but seemingly took a step backwards when he lost in the final qualifying round at the Brasil Open against Maximo Gonzalez. However, last weeks finalist in Rio de Janeiro, Guido Pella, pulled out at the last moment and Carballes benefitted from a lucky loser.
The world number 122 made the most of his opportunity and eliminated Japan’s Taro Daniel 6-2, 7-6 in one hour and thirty seven minutes. “I’m very happy because I played very well throughout the entire match. Things got a bit more complicated in the second set but I managed to recover and pull through”, said Carballes, who will face Thomaz Bellucci in the second round. “I’m playing him for the first time. I know that he’s playing very well and having a good season. As he’s playing at home, he’s the favourite but I’m going to give everything and hopefully I’ll have my chances”, concluded the Spaniard.
The other match in the opening day of the Brasil Open involved Daniel Muñoz de la Nava and Maximo Gonzalez. The Argentine, who knocked out Carballes in qualifying, will ironically not go as far as his defeated opponent in this event as he was eliminated by Muñoz 6-3, 4-6, 6-2, making it a perfect day for Spanish tennis fans.
“It was a very tough match. I finished Buenos Aires with an elbow injury and it’s a complicated moment for both of us as we’re in the middle of this swing. I don’t want to take any credit away from him but if I’d had stayed calm, I would have closed it out in two sets”, stated Muñoz de la Nava, who now faces his conqueror last week in Rio, Nicolas Almagro.
