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Carreno Busta Begins Winston-Salem Campaign

Top seed Pablo Carreno Busta began his Winston-Salem Open campaign with a hard-fought 6-3, 3-6, 6-4 victory over Soonwoo Kwon Tuesday as he aims to capture his third tour-level title of the season this week.

The Spaniard, who upset World No. 1 Novak Djokovic in July to capture the bronze medal at the Tokyo Olympics. was made to battle against Kwon. Carreno Busta recovered from a dip in the second set, raising his level in the decider to advance in one hour and 56 minutes. Carreno Busta won 69 per cent (31/45) of his first-serve points and broke four times to improve to 2-0 in their ATP Head2Head Series.

“It was a very close match, he played really well in the second and third sets,” Carreno Busta said in his on-court interview. “It is really nice to be here again. I am happy as it is important for me to start my first match with a victory.

“I feel really comfortable here; it is a nice way to go to New York before the US Open. It is very important for me to play as many matches as possible.”

The World No. 12, who has also lifted trophies on clay in Mallorca and Hamburg this year, has fond memories in North Carolina, having lifted his maiden tour-level crown there in 2016. The 30-year-old will next face 16th seed Dominik Koepfer in the third round after the German battled past Marco Cecchinato 5-7, 6-4, 6-4.

FOLLOW THIS WEEK’S ACTION

In other action, Frenchman Benoit Paire cruised past countryman Gilles Simon 6-3, 6-3 in 72 minutes. The 12th seed fired five aces and broke four times to set up a meeting with either fifth seed Alexander Bublik or Finland’s Emil Ruusuvuori.

”It is not easy to play against Simon,” Paire said. “I am so happy to beat him today, I played a good match and built on the confidence of last week. I am really happy to be back. I reached the final in 2019, so I will try to do the same. The conditions are very tough, it is very humid. I have been in America for one month though, so I am used to it.”

On a strong day for France, lucky loser Pierre-Hugues Herbert also booked his spot in the third round with a 6-4, 6-2 victory over Federico Coria in their first ATP Head2Head meeting. The 30-year-old will next meet either American Marcos Giron or 10th seed Federico Delbonis.

Source Tennis – ATP World Tour

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