Sumit Nagal Exits Marrakech Open, Defeated by Italy’s Sonego

In an unexpected turn of events at the Grand Prix Hassan II in Marrakech, Morocco, Italian qualifier Fabio Fognini overcame a challenging second set to defeat the tournament’s top seed, Serbian Laslo Djere, with scores of 7-6 (1), 2-6, 6-4. Despite falling behind early in the third set, Fognini rallied to secure the last four games, finally winning on his sixth attempt at match point.

Fognini’s victory was part of a successful day for Italian tennis, as Lorenzo Sonego and Matteo Berrettini also advanced, beating their respective opponents, while eighth seed Flavio Cobolli was defeated by Russia’s Pavel Kotov, setting up a quarterfinal clash between Kotov and Fognini, and an all-Italian matchup between Berrettini and Sonego.

At the Millennium Estoril Open in Portugal, Spanish qualifier Pablo Llamas Ruiz made quick work of Germany’s eighth seed Dominik Koepfer, winning 6-4, 6-3, thanks to strategic play and capitalizing on Koepfer’s errors. Llamas Ruiz is set to face fellow Spaniard David Jorda Sanchis in the next round. The day also saw victories for Arthur Fils and Gael Monfils of France, among others, in their respective matches against Portuguese wild cards.

Meanwhile, at the US Men’s Clay Court Championship in Houston, the top seed, American Ben Shelton, overcame a slow start to defeat Belgium’s Zizou Bergs 3-6, 6-4, 6-3. Shelton’s win was part of a successful day for American players, with Marcos Giron and Brandon Nakashima also making it to the quarterfinals. However, the tournament witnessed a significant upset when Italy’s Luciano Darderi defeated the second-seeded Francisco Cerundolo of Argentina in a closely contested match.