Top seed Leandro Romiglio ended a two-match winless run against
fellow Argentine Robertino Pezzota in the final of the Tour de las
Americas - Buenos Aires Tortugas Open, PSA M5 tournament to claim
his second PSA World Tour title of 2016.
The pair had faced off twice already on the 2016 Tour de las
Americas, with Pezzota triumphing over Romiglio in both the final of
the Mar del Plata Open and the last eight stage of the Cordoba Open
in recent months.
Romiglio, the World No.104, looked in fine fettle from the outset of
the tournament, and stormed to the final courtesy of straight games
victories over Nicolas Caballero, Federico Cioffi and Diego Gobbi.
Elsewhere, Pezzota, who was named the wildcard for the event, also
failed to drop a game en route, and he came into the final at the
Tortugas Country Club having lost just two of his previous 29
matches.
It was Romiglio who started on the front foot though as he quickly
built up a rhythm, and he rattled off a succession of winners to go
a game ahead before overcoming Pezzota in a tense second-game
tie-break.
The third game saw Pezzota dig in his heels and reverse the
scoreline to claw a game back, but the momentum soon shifted back in
Romiglio’s favour, and the 25-year-old eventually closed out an
11-5, 13-11, 11-13, 11-5 victory to return to winning ways over his
compatriot.
A blistering opening day of action in the main draw of the Tour de
las Americas – Buenos Aires Tortugas Open, PSA M5 tournament saw all
but two of the seeded players fall to their lower-ranked
counterparts after a series of scintillating matches.
Wildcard Robertino Pezzota got his tournament off to a fine start
after he overcame seventh seed Le Roy Leong. Pezzota has been in
sublime form recently, with just two defeats in his last 26 matches,
and the World No.172 maintained his fine displays into his match
with Leong, claiming an 11-4, 11-3, 11-3 victory to progress.
He will take on Peruvian qualifier Alonso Escudero in the last eight
after he sailed past Ireland’s Stuart Hadden in straight games.
Elsewhere, second seed Andres Herrera fell to Argentine Gonzalo
Miranda in three. The Colombian, who shared a court with World No.1
Mohamed ElShorbagy in February’s Taeq SquashColombia PSA Open, was
outmatched by a powerful performance from Miranda, who will face
Rodrigo Obregon for a place in the quarter-final, with Obregon
conquering Santiago Orozco Parra.
Leandro Romiglio and Diego Gobbi, seeds one and three, respectively,
were the only seeded competitors to emerge from round one unscathed.
Romiglio defeated Paraguay’s Nicolas Caballero 3-0, while Gobbi
overcame Rodrigo Pezzota, the brother of Robertino, in four.
Federico Cioffi will stand in Romiglio’s way in the next round after
beating England’s Lewis Doughty, and Gobbi will line up against
qualifier Ignacio Gutierrez Keen, who ousted Francesco Marcantonio.
Number two qualifying seed Rodrigo Pezzota sealed his place in the
main draw of the Tour de las Americas – Buenos Aires Tortugas Open,
PSA M5 tournament after downing fellow Argentine Matias Valenzuela
in the final round of qualifying.
The 31-year-old, who won a bronze medal during the 2015 Pan American
Games, eased to a two-game lead, before conceding the third after a
resurgent Valenzuela battled to supremacy. His victory was
short-lived though as Pezzota soon found himself back on top, and he
triumphed in the fourth and final game to wrap up an 11-6, 11-2,
3-11, 11-7 victory.
Pezzota, the World No.428, will go up against Brazil’s Diego Gobbi
in the opening round of the main draw, with Gobbi looking to end
recent back-to-back first round defeats.
Peru’s Alonso Escudero, the only player not from Argentina to
advance through qualifying, swept past Miguel Pujol in straight
games, and his reward is a main draw battle with Ireland’s Stuart
Hadden, who will look to reach the quarter-final of a PSA World Tour
event for the first time in his career.
Local player Ignacio Gutierrez Keen, meanwhile, came through a
nail-biting five-game match with number three qualifying seed Juan
Pablo Roude to seal his place in the main draw. The lead changed
hands multiple times in a high-octane affair, with Gutierrez
eventually prevailing to set up a fixture with Paraguay’s Francesco
Marcantonio.
Rodrigo Obregon, fresh off the back of dispatching top qualifying
seed Daniel Alejandro Lomaglio in the previous round, is the other
player to progress after his win against Nahuel Hernan Ramos, and he
will go head-to-head with number eight seed Santiago Orozco Parra
for a place in the last eight.
The first qualifying round of the Tour de las Americas – Buenos
Aires Tortugas Open, PSA M5 tournament saw a number of local players
advance to the next round in Argentina at the Tortugas Country Club.
World No.428 Rodrigo Pezzota overcame fellow Argentine Juan Bautista
Cortes in his fixture with a composed 11-6, 11-7, 11-5 triumph in
just 15 minutes.
Pezzota’s reward is a final qualifying round matchup with Matias
Valenzuela, who made short work of Juan Segundo Barreyro.
The day’s biggest upset saw top qualifying seed Daniel Alejandro
Lomaglio bow out of the tournament after falling to Rodrigo Obregon
in straight games. Obregon was in control throughout the duration of
the 28-minute clash and will go up against Nahuel Hernan Ramos in
the final round of qualifying after he saw off Rodrigo Bonzo.
Meanwhile, Juan Pablo Roude powered past Guido Fontanazzi to reach
the next stage, and he will go head-to-head with Ignacio Gutierrez
Keen for a place in the main draw, with Gutierrez progressing after
a walkover against German Santos.
Peru’s Alonso Escudero, the only non-Argentine player to make it
through to the final qualifying round, will take on Miguel Pujol
next after they defeated Francisco Obregon and Bautista Najles,
respectively.
