Hugo Gaston overtaken by Sebastian Korda… and by the stake?
For his entry into the Next Gen Masters, where he qualified at the last minute after his fine career at the Rolex Paris Masters, the Toulouse driver lost in five rounds against the American (3-4, 3-4, 4- 0, 4-3, 4-0).
Breaké entry, Gaston (67th world) to feed some regrets in this two-hour long match, where he won the first two rounds in the tie-break, in this new best of four sets tournament.
However, the spark of French tennis was finally extinguished against an opponent, better classified (39th in the world) and more precise than him.
Clumsy in the decisive moments (1 break point converted out of 10), Gaston will have let go in the last round, conceded without scoring the slightest play, as in the third.
Now it's time to rest for the 21-year-old, who will face Italian Lorenzo Musetti (57th in the world) on Wednesday for the second meeting of Group B.
Alcaraz starts with a victory
In Group A, number 1 seed Carlos Alcaraz reacted well after his loss to Gaston at the Rolex Pais Masters.
The Spaniard (32nd in the world) easily dismissed the Dane Holger Rune (108th) in three sets (4-3, 4-2, 4-0).
The great hope of Spanish tennis leads the dance in front of the American Brandon Nakashima (63rd), winner in four sets (4-1, 3-4, 4-1, 4-0) of the Argentinian Cerundolo (91st).