Eckental Challenger:
Its not everyday that Toomy Robredo faces someone who wasn’t born when he turned pro. The 35 year-old veteran was put in that scenario though when he faced Germany’s Rudolf Molleker in Eckental.
The 17 year-old Molleker made headlines in July when he qualified for Hamburg event, defeating Casper Ruud and Leonardo Mayer. The youngster was unable to make much of an impression against Robredo however, as the Spaniard eased to a 6-4, 6-2 win in just over an hour. Robredo, ranked at No.151 this week, is unseeded in the Challenger tournament, which is played on carpet.
Young Kazakh Alexander Bublik, the 3rd seed, got off to a good start with a 6-4, 6-4 win over wildcard Jeremy Jahn, whilst Mirza Basic also got off to a winning start.
Top seed Ruben Bemelmans gets his campaign up and running tomorrow when he takes on Lloyd Harris. Maximilian Marterer, Simone Bolleli, and an intriguing match-up between Kenny De Schepper and Dustin Brown feature on day two.
Canberra Challenger:
It did not go according to plan on day one of the Canberra Challenger for the two seeded Americans. 6th seed Noah Rubin crashed out 6-3, 6-2 to Sebastian Fanselow, whilst 4th seed Mitchell Krueger suffered a similar fate, beaten 6-2, 7-5 by home player Luke Saville. For Krueger it is his third straight first round exit in Challenger events after defeats by Liam Broady and Tennys Sandgren in Stockton and Fairfield respectively.
2nd seed Taro Daniel had little trouble in his first round match, with the Japanese easing past Andre Ghem 7-5, 6-2. 8th seed Omar Jasika also got off to a good start, winning 6-4, 7-6 against Harry Bourchier. Jasika had been an early candidate for the Next Gen finals after reaching the final of the Happy Valley Challenger and then winning in Burnie. The young Aussie has failed to replicate that form across the rest of the season however, but will now be looking to finish strongly as the Challenger tour returns to Australia.
