Former Champion Bautista Agut started his new Sofia Open campaign remarkably. One of the beloved players of the local fans stole the show in the first half of the first day with main draw matches, defeating Croatian Miomir Kecmanovic 7:6 (9), 6:7 (2), 7:6 (5).
The thriller on the Central Court of “Arena Sofia” lasted 3:16:42, or just 6 minutes from the record for the longest match in the tournament’s history. So far, the record is held by the Belorussian Ilya Ivashka and the Swede Mikael Ymer, who played last year 3:22:50. Then the 28-year-old representative of Belarus won 7:6 (8), 4:6, 7:5. The third longest match record was held by John Millman and Gilles Simon, who stood on the court for 3 hours and 15 minutes in 2020!
The Spaniard was one of the two former champions in the field in Sofia, where he claimed the fourth of his 11 tour-level crowns in 2016.
Bautista Agut failed to serve out the match at 5-4 in the second set and at 5-4 in the third set, but eventually prevailed in the third-set tie-break, converting his second match point to improve to 5-0 in the pair’s Lexus ATP Head2Head series. Bautista Agut will next play Hungarian Fabian Marozsan.
Earlier, Fabian Marozsan became the first winner at Sofia Open 2023’s main draw.
Marozsan, who upset Carlos Alcaraz in Rome this year, overcame countryman Zsombor Piros 6-3, 6-1 to reach his fifth tour-level second round of the year.
Piros served more aces (5-1), but Marozsan was more successful in serving (28-21). The quarter-finalist from Shanghai won 63% of his first serve points (19/39) and converted six of his ten break points (60%), while his opponent converted two of his three break points (67%).
In the round of 16, the world No. 62 will face Roberto Bautista Agut.
Second-seeded Adrian Mannarino already knows the name of his first Sofia Open 2023 opponent. It will be Albert Ramos-Vinolas who defeated his compatriot Ramon Carballes Baena 7:5, 4:6, 6:3 in almost 3 hours – 2:48.
Four of the first six Sofia Open 2023 matches ended in three sets.
In other action, Australian Christopher O’Connell defeated #NextGenATP Serbian Hamad Medjedovic 6-7(3), 6-1, 7-6(2) to improve to 2-0 in the pair’s Lexus ATP Head2Head series. O’Connell will next play the seventh seed – Sebastian Ofner after the Austrian beat Ukrainian qualifier Vitaliy Sachko 6-4, 3-6, 6-2.
The sixth-seeded Australian Max Purcell raced past his young compatriot Rinky Hijikata 6:3, 6:3.
