It’s not just Dalla Valle: Italy has placed another player in the semi-final, and for Samuel Vincent Ruggeri it will still be a historic week. He had never gone this far in a Challenger, and on the fifth attempt – finally – he overcame the hurdle of the quarterfinals. He did it in style. Followed passionately by a small group of fans, the 22-year-old from Bergamo achieved the best victory of his career against Albert Ramos, a truly convincing 6-2 6-4. When the serve works, Vincent Ruggeri’s game enters another dimension and is worth much more than his current ranking (n.263) . Ok, Ramos is in a declining phase but he is not a player who fights alone. On the contrary. Instead Vincent Ruggeri did everything right, without even spending too much energy. It came in handy in the afternoon match against Ivan Gakhov, tamed with a score of 7-6 6-4. Equipped with an overwhelming physique, Vincent Ruggeri still seems to have a lot of margin in his groundstrokes. He has no particular weaknesses, but not even a blow capable of leaving his opponent still. Luckily for him, the paradigm is overturned by the serve, which allows him to collect many free points and – probably – would allow him to play the match of his life on a surface other than clay . Against Gakhov it was fundamental to win the first set, in which he was twice behind by a break before recovering and winning it in the tie-break. In the second he put service on autopilot, so a break in the fifth game was enough for him to glide towards an unprecedented result. The points from the semi-final will not allow him to make who knows what leap in the rankings (which would only happen in the event of victory in the tournament), but it doesn’t matter: a player’s career is made up of steps, and this year Vincent Ruggeri is making a obvious leap in quality .
NEW TIME FOR THE FINAL
And who knows, maybe after the first semi-final the first final might arrive: the obstacle is called Federico Agustin Gomez , a 27-year-old Argentinian who turned professional only three years ago after studying in the United States and who is making a great impression. On the torrid Thursday in Milan he was helped by the effort with which his opponent in the quarterfinals, the Lithuanian Vilius Gaubas, beat Alvarez Varona. Almost three hours of battle which ended at 4pm took their toll on Gaubas’ legs and he was forced to take to the field again at 5.45pm . Gomez picked up the pieces of his opponent a bit and obtained – just like Vincent Ruggeri – the first semi-final of his career in a Challenger tournament. For the winner, therefore, it will be the first Challenger final in his career. And – unless Jianu beats Dalla Valle – there is the possibility that Milan will host a final between absolute debutants. That’s the beauty of Challenger tournaments. Speaking of the final stages, the times of the final day have been changed. Unlike what was initially established, the doubles final will be played on Saturday 29 June at 12pm and the singles final at 2pm . The reason is twofold: the main one concerns the weather, since the rain is expected to return late on Saturday afternoon. Furthermore, the coincidence with the eagerly awaited Italy-Switzerland at the European Football Championships will be avoided. Tickets for the last two days are still available and can be purchased both on the Ticketone circuit and directly at the entrance to the ASPRIA Harbor Club.
ASPRIA TENNIS CUP – BCS TROPHY (€74,825, clay)
Second Round Singles
Samuel Vincent Ruggeri (ITA) b. Albert Ramos (SPA) 6-2 6-4
Chun-Hsin Tseng (TPE) b. Gianluca Mager (ITA) 7-5 7-5
Ivan Gakhov (RUS) b. Federico Gaio (ITA) 7-6(3) 6-3
Enrico Dalla Valle b. Giovanni Fonio (ITA) 7-6 6-5 retirement
Filip Cristian Jianu (ROM) b. Marco Cecchinato (ITA) 6-1 7-5
Elmer Moller (DAN) b. Juan Pablo Varillas (PER) 6-3 6-1
Federico Agustin Gomez (ARG) b. Nicolas Sanchez Izquierdo (SPA) 4-6 6-4 6-1
Vilius Gaubas (LTU) b. Nicolas Alvarez Varona (SPA) 4-6 6-3 6-4
Quarter Final Singles
Samuel Vincent Ruggeri (ITA) b. Ivan Gakhov (RUS) 7-6(5) 6-4
Enrico Dalla Valle (ITA) b. Chun-Hsin Tseng (TPE) 6-0 6-4
Filip Cristian Jianu (ROM) b. Elmer Moller (DAN) 2-6 6-2 retirement
Federico Agustin Gomez (ARG) b. Vilius Gaubas (LTU) 6-1 6-4
First Round Doubles
Theo Arribage-Denys Molchanov (FRA-UCR) b. George Goldhoff-Alexandru Jecan (USA-ROM) 7-6(3) 6-4
Federico Gaio-Federico Cinà (ITA-ITA) b. Boris Arias-Federico Zeballos (BOL-BOL) 4-6 6-3 10-8
Quarter Final Doubles
Theo Arribage-Denys Molchanov (FRA-UCR) b. Toshihide Matsui-Kaito Uesugi (GIA-GIA) 6-2 6-3
Petr Nouza-Patrik Rikl (CZE-CZE) b. Thomas Fancutt-Rubin Statham (AUS-NZL) 7-6(1) 7-6(4)
Ivan Sabanov-Matej Sabanov (SRB-SRB) b. Federico Gaio-Federico Cinà (ITA-ITA) 6-7(4) 6-3 10-6
Andre Begemann-Jonathan Eysseric (GER-FRA) b. Orlando Luz-Marcelo Zormann (BRA-BRA) 7-6(5) 6-3
