Verdasco falls, Garin battles through in Rio
Fernando Verdasco fell to a third consecutive loss with an early exit at the Rio Open.
Fernando Verdasco slumped to another first-round loss, while Cristian Garin battled through at the Rio Open on Monday.
Verdasco, the ninth seed at the ATP 500 tournament, was beaten 6-3 6-3 by fellow Spaniard Pablo Andujar on the clay in Brazil.
The 36-year-old has fallen to three straight losses, the first of which was a third-round defeat at the Australian Open.
Verdasco – the 2018 runner-up – was one of three seeds tested, but Garin survived a test against Andrej Martin.
Garin, who won the title in Cordoba earlier this month, needed more than three hours to edge Martin 4-6 7-5 7-6 (7-5).
Vitória suada de @Garin_Cris em 3h09 de partida: 4/6, 7/5 e 7/6(5) contra Martin. #RioOpen pic.twitter.com/1F4JRHgB6B
— Rio Open (@RioOpenOficial) February 17, 2020
Albert Ramos-Vinolas departed, the seventh seed falling to 16-year-old Carlos Alcaraz 7-6 (7-2) 4-6 7-6 (7-2) after three hours, 36 minutes.
Federico Delbonis advanced, while wildcard Thiago Seyboth Wild needed almost four hours to get past Alejandro Davidovich Fokina 5-7 7-6 (7-3) 7-5.
There were also upsets at the Delray Beach Open, where John Millman and Adrian Mannarino were beaten in the first round.
Millman, the fifth seed, went down to Yoshihito Nishioka 3-6 6-4 6-2 and seventh seed Mannarino fell to Kwon Soon-woo 1-6 6-3 6-2.
What a comeback.
What a way to win it. @yoshihitotennis rallies to defeat John Millman in 3 sets at the @DelrayBeachOpen.: @TennisTV pic.twitter.com/3nBLFnJPqT
— ATP Tour (@atptour) February 18, 2020
Frances Tiafoe, the champion in 2018, came through his opener against qualifier Emilio Gomez.
