On Friday, the 2023 ATP Marseille Open's second round will feature Swiss qualifier Alexander Ritschard versus third seed Alex De Minaur.
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The third career victory at the Tour level went to Alexander Ritschard. In one hour and 27 minutes, he overcame Pablo Andujar, a clay court expert from Spain. Ritschard, who had a good and solid qualifying season, overcame an early hiccup to dominate the opening set and break Andujar’s serve twice. The pair traded breaks early in the second set, but the Spanish was unable to match the Swiss’ aggression and rally tolerance. In the second set, Andujar’s first-serve points won drastically declined, allowing Ritschard to secure the vital break in the sixth game. To secure the victory, the 28-year-old needed five match points. Ritschard has never progressed above this point; he lost the previous time he reached the Round of 16 at a tournament in his hometown of Gstaad.
Alex De Minaur has had a strong start to the season, and if he maintains this pace, he will undoubtedly re-enter the top 20 in the following weeks. Rafael Nadal of Spain was defeated by De Minaur in three sets at the United Cup, unquestionably the best victory of his career despite Nadal’s escalating physical issues. Although though Australia’s team competition campaign came to an early end, there was still enough in Melbourne for the Aussies to support their man. The only Australian participant at this year’s Australian Open, Alex De Minaur, lost to eventual champion Novak Djokovic in the second round. De Minaur made it to the quarterfinals in Rotterdam, his first tournament away from home, and came within one point of defeating Grigor Dimitrov. However, he turned down two match points and lost in a third-set tiebreak.
| Alex De Minaur vs Alexander Ritschard | Match details |
|---|---|
| Date | February 24, 2023 |
| Surface | Hard |
| Tournament | Marseille Open |
| Stage | Round of 16 |
| Time (India) | 12:30 A.M. |
| Opponent | Score |
|---|---|
| Grigor Dimitrov | 3-6, 6-3, 6-7 (L) |
| Maxime Cressy | 7-5, 3-6, 6-3 (W) |
| Andrey Rublev | 6-4, 6-4 (W) |
| Novak Djokovic | 2-6, 1-6, 2-6 (L) |
| Benjamin Bonzi | 7-6, 6-2, 6-1 (W) |
| Opponent | Score |
|---|---|
| Pablo Andujar | 7-5, 6-3 (W) |
| Antoine Bellier | 6-3, 7-6 (W) |
| Fabian Marozsan | 2-6, 6-3, 6-4 (W) |
| Kenny De Schepper | 7-6, 1-6, 4-6 (L) |
| Dennis Novak | 4-6, 3-6 (L) |
0-0. With a career record of 0-2 versus top-50 players, Alexander Ritschard has failed to record a victory. It is important to note that he put up a good fight in both matches, defeating Stefanos Tsitsipas in Wimbledon 2022 and Felix Auger Aliassime at the US Open 2022 in sets, respectively.
Alex De Minaur and Alexander Ritschard will take on each other in the round of 16 matchup of the 2023 ATP Marseille Open on February 23.
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