The heavy rain that punished Rio de Janeiro on Thursday night forced the tournament organizers to postpone for friday both last matches round of 16 of the only ATP 500 tournament in South America.
The rain forced the referees to interrupt the match in which spanish Carlos Alcaraz beat by 5-4 to Argentine Federico Delbonis and, although the organizers waited for close to three hours weather conditions would allow its resumption, they opted for announce your postponement towards midnight.
This is because, despite the fact that the rain Finally gave a truce at the end of the night, the main court I was totally waterlogged and without conditions to allow the resumption of the matches. At the time the postponement was announced so only three of the eight scheduled matches had been played for this Thursday, which were four for the eighth finals of the individual competition and four for the quarterfinals of the pairs competition.
In addition to the meeting between Alcaraz and Delbonis that would define one of the qualified for the quarterfinals, which was not completed, was not disputed either the one who would face the Italian Matteo Berrettini with the Brazilian Thiago Monteiro.
According to the organizers, the match between Berrettini and Monteiro for the round of 16 will be played from 2:30 p.m. local time (17.30 GMT) on Friday, at the end of which Alcaraz and Delbonis they will return to the basketball court to end their duel.
Alcaraz could play three games in a single day
Like the quarterfinal matches were confirmed for Friday nightthe winners of both round of 16 duels will have to play two games on the same day.
Alcaraz, the young Spanish promise of 18 years, could Being forced to dispute three games the same day at least that give up the pairs competition, in which he plays alongside his compatriot Pablo Carreño Busta. They both had to face this thursday to the couple made up of Marcel Granollers and Horacio Zeballos for the quarterfinals, but The game was not played due to rain.
The one who did manage to take advantage of the good weather was the Argentine Francisco Cerundolo (100 ATP), which advanced this Thursday to the quarterfinals of the Rio de Janeiro Open after eliminate by 2-0 the Spanish Roberto Carballés (78 ATP), with partial 6-3 and 6-2. The Argentine will have to face the Serb on Friday in the quarterfinals in Rio Myomir Kecmanovic (70 ATP), who this Thursday eliminated the Italian Lorenzo Sonego (21 ATP), the sixth favorite in Rio de Janeiro, 7-6 and 6-4.
In the round of 16 matches played on Wednesday, the Argentines Diego Schwartzmann (15 ATP) and Federico Coria (63 ATP), the Spanish Pablo Andujar (74 ATP) and the Italian Fabio Fogni (38 ATP) guaranteed places in the quarter finals.
Schwarzmann, third favorite of the Brazilian tournament, will be measured on Friday with Andujar for a place in the semifinals, while Coria will have to face Fognini.