Those Ymers! Two surprises in one day!
Elias and Mikael Ymer caused two surprises at the ATP Tour 250 events in Pune and Montpellier. The Swedish brothers defeated Aslan Karatsev and Gael Monfils in straight sets each.
by tennisnet.com
last edit: Feb 04, 2022, 08:27 am
It may have been just a small sign of life for what was once great Swedish tennis when Elias, 25, and Mikael Ymer (23) reached the quarterfinals of the Davis Cup finals in Madrid last fall. But at least: Finally, the Drei-Kronen-Team was once again a topic of conversation in tennis circles. On the other hand, things are rather tough on the ATP tour, since the days of Robin Söderling there has been no one who could follow in the footsteps of Mats Wilander or Stefan Edberg.
Successes like on Thursday come in very handy. First, Elias Ymer struck in Pune. And that against the tournament favorite Aslan Karatsev. Ymer won 6: 3 and 7: 6 (3) and thus made it into the quarterfinals of the ATP Tour 250 tournament, as did brother Mikael after the surprisingly clear 6: 1 and 6: 2 against Gael Monfils in Montpellier the Swede wrapped up after just 58 minutes of play.
Zverev would probably wait in the semifinals
Mikael Ymer can now deal with the next French veteran, Richard Gasquet is waiting. Brother Elias has to deal with eighth seeded Stefano Travaglia in Pune, where he qualified for the main draw. And we can definitely hope for more in India - because the 250er, with the exception of Karatsev, was not exactly top-class.
In Montpellier, the dream of a Swedish tournament victory is unlikely to come true this year. Because with Alexander Zverev there is a man at the start who wants to reduce frustration after his early exit at the Australian Open. Assuming a win against Adrian Mannarino, Zverev would wait for Mikael Ymer in the semifinals.