Reis surpasses Sakamoto in Floripa, three Brazilians break the quali

Florianópolis (SC) – In the meeting between two Brazilians this Monday, João Lucas Reis got the better of Pedro Sakamoto and scored a double 7/5 in the debut of the Engie Open, a 75-point ATP challenger that will be played on the clay courts of Lagoa Iate Clube ( LIC), in Florianópolis. It was Reis’ second victory against Sakamoto of the season, repeating the result from January in Buenos Aires.

At 24 years old, Reis occupies 319th place in the ranking and has the best career mark of 259th, achieved in May last year. The Pernambuco native also ends an uncomfortable sequence of eight debut defeats. He could face another Brazilian in the second round, Felipe Meligeni from São Paulo. 3rd seed in the tournament and 130th in the world, Meligeni debuts this Tuesday, around 8pm, against Argentine Gonzalo Villanueva.

Sakamoto was already in the round of 16 in the challengers of Assunção and São Leopoldo in the last two weeks. He also reached the quarterfinals in Santa Cruz, Bolivia in early March. The experienced 30-year-old from São Paulo gained 13 positions in the ranking and now appears in 296th place in the ranking. He is very close to his personal record, 284th place, achieved in 2020.

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The start of this Monday’s round had three Brazilians guaranteeing a place in the main draw after qualifying. Two of them won national duels. Mateo Reyes from Santa Catarina defeated José Pereira from Pernambuco by 7/6 (7-3) and 7/5. He debuts in the bracket against Argentine Francisco Comesana, seed 2 in the event. Paulo Saraiva from Brasilia defeated Daniel Dutra da Silva from São Paulo by 7/6 (7-3) and 6/2. His next rival is Frenchman Geoffrey Blancaneaux.

In addition to them, Gabriel Sidney from Paraná was leading the first set against Ecuadorian Emilio Gomez by 6/5 when his rival abandoned it. Sidney faces Argentine Lorenzo Rodriguez, also coming from Quali.