FRIDAY, March 29, 2024
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Copil Tames SEA Games Champion in Bangkok Challenger 1.

Copil Tames SEA Games Champion in Bangkok Challenger 1.

Third seed Marius Copil of Romania showed no mercy for SEA Games gold medalist Warit Sornbutnark by allowing the local wildcard player just two games to book his second round berth in the US$50,000 Bangkok Challenger 1 at Rama Gardens Hotel on Monday.

Playing his first match after losing the final of a challenger to homeboy Norbert Gombos  in Bratislava last November, the world 132 outclassed the Thai wildcard entrant 6-2 6-0 in just 55 minutes in one of the three season opening challengers of 2017 (the others are in Noumea and Happy Valley).

The 26-year-old Romanian will play his next match against Czech Zdenek Kolar, who needed three sets to move past  Jordi Samper-Montana of Spain 2-6 6-3 6-4.

Copil Tames SEA Games Champion in Bangkok Challenger 1.

Marius Copil 

In the final qualifying rounds, up-and-coming South Korean Soon Woo Kwon, who just won a Futures title in Hua Hin two weeks ago, successfully reserved a maidraw spot by beating Chinese Fajing Sun 6-2 4-6 6-2.

Lloyd Glasspool of England, quarter-finalist here during the Bangkok Challenger 3 last year in May, upset sixth seed Egor Gerasimov of Belarus 6-2 6-2. Estonian Jurgen Zopp caused the other upset on the day with a 6-3 7-5 win over eighth seed Albano Olivetti of France.

The other maindraw spot was taken by Mils Langer who beat teenage promising star Daniel Altmaier 7-6 (7-5) 3-6 6-1 in the all German affair.

Japanese Yuichi Sugita, the world No 112, is the top seed. The 28-year-old from Sendai who won two challengers in Thailand two years ago here and in Hua Hin will open his account against Langer.

Second seed Denis Istomin of Uzbekistan will play local wildcard holder Congsup Congcar while former world No 8 Janko Tipsarevic of Serbia, the third seed, will take on Zopp.

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