Home favourite falls in straight sets to American qualifier
Local favourite Tariq Simons saw his singles campaign come to an end at the W.E.R. Joell Tennis Stadium, falling in straight sets to American qualifier Rohan Sachdev in the second round of the ITF Bermuda Open.
Simons, who captured home headlines with a gripping opening-round triumph, battled hard to force a tie-break in a competitive opening set but was ultimately unable to stem Sachdev’s momentum, bowing out 7-6, 6-3.
At the top of the draw, Jamaican top seed Blaise Bicknell underlined his title credentials with a ruthless 6-0, 6-3 victory over American Kian Vakili.
Second seed Keshav Chopra was made to dig deep, overturning an opening-set deficit to overcome fellow American Jeffrey Fradkin 3-6, 6-3, 6-2. Third seed Matt Kuhar booked his quarter-final berth when Drew Van Orderlain was forced to retire trailing 6-2, while seventh-seeded Pole Kacper Szymkowiak dominated Carel Aubriel Ngounoue 6-0, 6-1.
Elsewhere in singles action, Gray Voelzke upset sixth-seeded Noah Schachter 6-2, 7-5, and Nathan Cox advanced 7-6, 4-6, 3-1 after Barbados’ Kaipo Marshall was forced to retire in the decider.
In doubles quarter-finals, Canadian second seeds Volodymyr Gurenko and Niels Peter Van Noord edged Alexander Bravo and Vakili 6-3, 4-6, [10-3], while Guatemala’s Juan Sebastian Dominguez Collado and Curaçao’s Aydan Gomez Osorio pulled off a stunning 6-3, 6-7, [10-6] upset against Barbadian third seeds Marshall and Stephen Slocombe.
