Thiago Monteiro will never forget these two weeks in which he has the made the most of wild card invitations to both of his home tournaments. The Brazilian has already jumped 60 places in the rankings this week after making the second round in Rio, where he stunned Jo-Wilfried Tsonga in the opening encounter.
This week he’s at it again in Sao Paulo, having made the quarter finals with wins over Nicolas Almagro and Daniel Muñoz de la Nava. “I’m very happy because Muñoz doesn’t give you any rhythm and I struggled to get into the game”, said Monteiro, who took the match 4-6, 6-3, 6-2. “I started serving better in the second set, I was more aggressive, and I think that the support from the fans was fundamental. I’m very happy with today’s result and I hope to keep it up in the following matches”, concluded the Brazilian.
He now faces his conqueror in Rio de Janeiro, eventual champion Pablo Cuevas, after the Uruguayan overcame Facundo Bagnis in straight sets. “He’s got a lot of confidence after winning the title in Rio but I hope to have all of the fans behind me, as they were vital today”, said Monteiro ahead of the quarter final clash.
The big surprise of the day in Sao Paulo however was the fall of number one seed Benoit Paire. The Frenchman was ousted 6-0, 4-6, 6-3 by Dusan Lajovic, who will try to make the most of the draw to rack up vital points in the ranking. It will be a great opportunity for the Serb in the quarter finals as he faces qualifier Gastao Elias, after the Portuguese player surprised Santi Giraldo in straight sets.
Other round two results:
Iñigo Cervantes d. Blaz Rola 7-6, 7-6
Federico Delbonis d. Diego Schwartzman 3-6, 6-4, 6-2
Pablo Carreño d. Dani Gimeno 6-2, 3-6, 6-3
Roberto Carballes d. Thomaz Bellucci 2-6, 6-4, 6-3
