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After reaching the quarter-final in Rio de Janeiro as a qualifier, the young Norwegian Casper Ruud has made a good start in Sao Paulo as well, beating Thiago Monteiro 6-3, 6-4 in swift 72 minutes to advance into the second round.
Casper lost 16 points in ten service games, facing no break points and mounting the tension on the other side of the net after cracking the rival's second serve, creating four break points and converting two for one break in each set.
The Norwegian hit the zone right from the start in his games, firing efficient serves and deep and accurate groundstrokes from both wings that left Monteiro with no chance for any damage in the return games. The Brazilian hit a double fault in the second game to hand the break to Ruud who took it with both hands, controlling the pace in his games and securing the opener with a service winner at 5-3.
Monteiro couldn't find the way to solve the rival's serve in set number two as well, staying in touch until game seven when Casper earned a break that pushed him 4-3 up, placing a forehand crosscourt winner in the ninth game to wrap up the triumph and move into the second round.
In Rio de Janeiro, the Bolivian Hugo Dellien became the first player from his country with an ATP win since Roland Garros 1984, advancing into the quarter-final and staying on the winning course in Sao Paulo as well after a dominant 6-1, 6-2 win over a qualifier Pedro Martinez.
The encounter lasted only 61 minutes and the winner was never in doubt, with Dellien serving at staggering 84% and one break point he faced. Martinez converted it although that was never enough to keep him in contention, dropping 55% of the points in his games to play against eight break points and lose serve on six occasions.
Hugo sealed the opener in less than 30 minutes with three breaks of serve and he repeated that in set number two as well, breaking Martinez three times in a row to march into the second round. Cordoba champion Juan Ignacio Londero defeated the Italian veteran Paolo Lorenzi 7-6, 6-1 in an hour and 19 minutes, giving away just eight points behind the initial shot and scoring two breaks in set number two for a comfortable win that came without spending too much time on the court.
Lorenzi played on hard court in the last couple of weeks and it seemed he managed to make a nice transition, staying on the level terms with the Argentinian in the opening set, with no break points for either of the players before the tie break.
There, Londero won four straight points to seal it with an ace at 6-3, gathering the momentum and turning the tide in set number two when he lost just one point on serve in four games. He broke Paolo in game two with a forehand winner and once again in game four when the Italian sent a backhand long, opening a significant lead and moving over the top with three winners in game seven for a perfect day at the office.
The 6th seed Jaume Munar notched the ninth win in 2019 following a one-sided 6-3-, 6-2 win over Pedro Sakamoto in 66 minutes. Serving at 70%, the Spaniard lost serve only once and he won half of the return points to create and convert four break points for the place in the last 16.
Jaume kicked off the match in strong fashion, winning 17 of the first 20 points, breaking in game two and firing a forehand down the line winner for a break at love at 3-0 and an even bigger lead. Pedro managed to pull one break back before Munar claimed the opener with a good hold in game nine, hoping for more of the same in the rest of the encounter.
He broke at love in the third game of the second set and once again at 4-2 with a volley winner, cementing the victory with a backhand down the line winner in game eight for the seventh win on the South American swing. An 18-year-old Brazilian Thiago Seyboth Wild grabbed the first ATP win thanks to a 6-3, 4-6, 6-2 triumph over Elias Ymer in two hours.
The US Open junior champion saved eight out of ten break points and he broke the Swede five times to emerge as the winner after a strong finish and five consecutive games on his tally in the deciding set.