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Madrid
The clay season heats up, and Mehul/Kroese start it off with a QF loss to the rising Spanish pairing of Alvelo/Algarin. It wasn't real close, and they would eventually make the final. Shyam Senepathy qualified but was then crushed by Piazzola. So much for all of that.
No seeds went out in the first round, but Teng was dropped in the second by Andres Varas in a match that went the distance. He didn't stop there, claiming the scalp of Ruben Piazzola, a fine clay player, 7-5, 7-5 in the third. Quite an impressive showing for Varas. Also in the third round, Prakash Mooljee dropped the first set against Rosenberg before rallying for a win, and Kronecker upset Gillo Fangio. Not having the best clay season is the third-ranked Italian.
Along with Varas, American Gregory Mackenzie made it two unseeded players into the quarters. The Argentine got a whole two games off Kaspar, while Mackenzie was the second player in a row to win the opening set against Mooljee then lose the match. Guus Dircx was upended in a close two by Dudwadkar, and Martin Zarco narrowly escaped Kronecker, 7-5 in the third. There were some really tight matches here, with the exception of our sporting potentate.
Mateo Kaspar thumped Mooljee 6-2, 6-3 in the first semi, while Zarco had little more trouble with Ritwik Dudwadkar in the second match. Pretty good showing by both players but they didn't do much on this day. The final was Kaspar's toughest match, but that's relative; lost seven games in a straight-sets win, converting all five of his break points. If he's going to beat everyone even on the dirt, there is truly no hope for the rest of the tour.
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