Ilya Ivashka cruised past Pablo Andujar 6-4 6-3 in the opening round of the Sofia Open. Ivashka has drawn level to 1-1 in his head-to-head matches against Andujar. Ivashka broke four times and hit eight aces.
Ivashka started the match with an early break at deuce in the first game to win the first set 6-4. Both players traded breaks in the third and fourth games at deuce to draw level to 2-2. Ivashka broke twice in the fifth and ninth games to close out the second set 6-3.
Ivashka holds a 29-14 win-loss record in 2021 and won 12 of his past 14 matches. He won his first ATP Tour title last August in Winston Salem.
“He is a great opponent, he has a lot of experience and I hope it’s going to be a great match. He is a great guy and it’s always nice to play against him”, said Ivashka.
Ivashka set up a match against Gael Monfils in their second head-to-head match. The Belarusian player has already beaten Monfils in three sets at the Olympic Games in Tokyo.
James Duckworth came back from one set down to beat Emil Ruusuvuori 3-6 6-4 6-4. Duckworth broke Ruusuvuori in the penultimate game of the match before holding serve to advance to the second round, where he will face Benoit Paire. Duckworth reached the final in Nur Sultan last week.
Ruusuvuori converted his third break point in the first game. Duckworth broke back in the fourth game to draw level to 2-2. Ruusuvuori broke serve in the seventh and ninth games at deuce to win the first set 6-3.
The second set started with three consecutive breaks, as Duckworth took a 2-1 lead. Ruusuvuori saved three break points in the fifth game to hold serve at deuce and won his final two service games to win the first set 6-3. Duckworth broke serve at deuce in the ninth game to win the third set 6-4.
Gianluca Mager reached the quarter final with a 7-6 (7-3) 6-3 win over Miomir Kecmanovic. Mager went down a break in the seventh game, but he broke back to draw level to 4-4. Mager missed two break points at 4-4, but he opened up a 4-1 lead en route to winning the tie-break 7-3. Mager missed three break points at 2-2 before breaking twice in the seventh and ninth games to win the second set 6-3.
Filip Krajinovic cruised past wild card Alexander Lazorov 6-0 6-3. Ilya Marchenko beat qualifier Andreas Seppi 6-4 6-2 to improve his head-to-head record against the Italian qualifier to 3-1.
