ATP Rotterdam: Daniil Medvedev, Karen Khachanov and Roberto Bautista Agut surprisingly eliminated
Surprise day at the ATP 500 event in Rotterdam: The two Russians Daniil Medvedev and Karen Khachanov had to leave the tournament surprisingly early, and Roberto Bautista Agut also failed to compatriot Pablo Carreno Busta .
by Michael Rothschädl
last edit: Feb 12, 2020, 09:04 pm
The day started with Gilles Simon and Mikhail Kukuschkin. The Frenchman was not only a favorite due to his position in the world rankings, the head-to-head with the Kazakh also led the 35-year-old 3-0 ahead of this game. And also the first round went according to plan for the French veteran, who put 7: 6 (3) on 1: 0 sets. But Kukuschkin did not want to give up without a fight and was able to equalize with 6: 3. But as in the previous two three-match duels of the two, Gilles Simon kept his nerve in this clash and decided round three with 6: 3 for himself.
In the second game at Center Court, the sensation seemed to be within reach. The experienced Robin Haase benefited from a poor performance by the number four of the tournament, David Goffin, but also presented himself in a dazzling condition. The 32-year-old won set one and looked for a long time as if he could win the second round. But then the Belgian caught himself, won set two in the tie break and went into the round of 16 with a lot of stomach ache and 3: 6, 7: 6 (5) and 6: 4.
Surprises all the time
The Spaniards Roberto Bautista Agut and Pablo Carreno Busta were already in the round of 16. And both had to fight more in their first-round matches than they would have liked. In the purely Spanish duel, the first surprise of the day came and Pablo Carreno Busta was able to take Roberto Bautista Agut out of the tournament with 6: 4, 2: 6 and 7: 6 (4), who was much better positioned in the world rankings.
The most confident of the day was the tournament winner last week in Montpellier: Gael Monfils. The showman from France did not stay long in his first round encounter with Joao Sousa and was the winner after only one hour and ten minutes with 6: 3 and 6: 2.
Dan Evans had also come to Rotterdam with good feelings. The Briton presented himself in strong condition in 2020 and was able to convince in round one against the German Philipp Kohlschreiber. Against Karen Khachanov, Evans was the clear outsider nonetheless. In the first duel of the two, however, it was the Briton who showed his staying power and was able to take out the 23-year-old Russian with 4: 6, 6: 3 and 6: 4.
It was also a bitter disappointment for his compatriot Daniil Medvedev that day. The tournament's number one was surprisingly prone to errors in its first round duel with Vasek Pospisil. The Canadian had reached the final in Montpellier last week and was able to take the good form to Holland. With 6: 4 and 6: 3, the Canadian caused the first big sensation of the tournament.
Previously, Jannik Sinner had benefited from a job from Radu Albot. As the last game of the day, Jan Lennard Struff vanquisher Felix Auger Aliassime faces Grigor Dimitrov.