Riccardo Balzerani’s adventure came to a halt in the round of 16. Opposing Tommy Robredo, the most important player among those present in Milan, the Lazio player (accompanied in Milan by coach Gabrio Castrichella) played his game, but never really got close to Robredo. On closer inspection, the entire match was mirrored in the first game, with Balzerani serving. A good 22 points were played spread over a quarter of an hour, the Italian tried to be proactive, but he was faced with a rubber wall. The years pass, the level will not return to what it was 10-12 years ago, but Robredo confirmed himself as a player of extreme class, flawless when the match is within his grasp. Tommy quickly escaped at 4-0, then handled the rest of the contest with ease and closed with a score of 6-2 6-3. For the Spaniard it is the 13th win in a row. In just a few weeks he has climbed a hundred positions and a return to the top-100, regardless of the result in Milan, seems more within reach than ever. In the quarters he will face number 1 on the scoreboard Hugo Dellien, saved almost by a miracle. In a match that ended at nightfall (it was almost 9 p.m.) he prevailed over Renzo Olivo. Playing a game of great sacrifice, the Argentine had managed to turn the outcome of the challenge. Ahead 3-1 in the third, with Dellien mentally out of the match, he suffered a calf injury. The two medical time-outs were useless: in the last five games he picked up very few points (6-2 6-7 6-3 the score) and gave way to a Dellien supported by some Bolivians living in Italy, excited to have a compatriot competitive in a popular sport like tennis. To beat Robredo he will need to raise, by a lot, his performance.
Eighth Finals Singles.
Frederico Ferreira Silva (POR) b. Pedro Sousa (POR) 6-1 6-2
Marcelo Arevalo (ESA) b. Alexandre Muller (FRA) 6-2 6-3
Danilo Petrovic (SRB) b. Nino Serdarusic (CRO) 6-3 7-5
Lorenzo Musetti (ITA) b. José Hernandez-Fernandez (DOM) 7-5 3-0 ret.
Aslan Karatsev (RUS) b. Sebastian Fanselow (GER) 6-4 6-2
Sumit Nagal (IND) b. Martin Cuevas (URU) 6-3 2-1 ret.
Tommy Robredo (SPA) b. Riccardo Balzerani (ITA) 6-2 6-3
Hugo Dellien (BOL) b. Renzo Olivo (ARG) 6-2 6-7(4) 6-3
Doubles Quarterfinals.
Tomislav Brkic / Ante Pavic (BIH-CRO) b. Riccardo Bonadio / Cristopher Heyman (ITA-BEL) 6-3 6-1
Ariel Behar / Gonzalo Escobar (URU-ECU) b. Fabricio Neis / Fernando Romboli (BRA-BRA) 7-6(4) 6-3
Andrea Vavassori / Andrei Vasilevski (ITA-BLR) b. Hans Hach Verdugo / Nathan Pasha (MEX-USA) 6-1 7-6(5)
Marcelo Arevalo / Miguel Angel Reyes Varela (ESA-MEX) b. David Marrero / Roberto Maytin (SPA-COL) 6-3 3-6 10-7
