The only seed in action overnight in Santo Domingo was defeated in the Dominican Republic’s challenger tournament, as Gerald Melzer fell to a man ranked ninety-nine places below him 6-3, 4-6, 6-2.
Guido Andreozzi is not a man to be taken lightly on clay however, and the Argentine has impressive wins on the surface against the likes of Martin Klizan and Guido Pella.
Due to the loss of a number of seeds in the lower section of the draw, the other second round matches featued no seeded players. Maxime Chazal ended the run of qualifier Roberto Quiroz, 6-3, 7-5. The biggest disappointment of the round was likely the loss of home favourite Jose Hernandez-Fernandez. The Dominican was unable to follow his gruelling win over Alejandro Gonzalez, as he was thrashed 6-3, 6-1 by in-form Argentine Nicolas Kicker. Kicker who lost in the first round of Sao Paulo this time last year, will almost certainly reach his career high ranking if he wins his quarter-final. He is ranked 170th, just thirteen places removed from that career-best.
The final match of Wednesday saw Italian Alessandro Giannessi continue to impress by defeating Franko Skugor 7-6, 7-6. Giannessi had defeated second seed Horacio Zeballos in the first round, and now goes on to face Kicker in the quarter-finals.
Thursday matches and picks:
Gianluca Naso vs Roberto Carballes-Baena: Carballes-Baena, the fourth seed, is an accomplished player on clay, and though Naso can probaly count clay as his best surface also, no upset should happen here. Winner: Carballes-Baena in straight sets.
Joao Sousa vs Mathias Bourgue: This match has the makings of an upset. There is not a huge ranking difference between the two, and Souza has been inconsistent for some time. Winner: Bourgue in straight sets.
Victor Estrella-Burgos vs Josef Kovalik: Estrella-Burgos has had a remarkable eighteen months on the red stuff. However, 2016 bears a very similar situation to 2015. Estrella-Burgos hoped to play Santo Domingo last year, but opted to withdraw at the last minute after winning in Quito. This year, he has chosen to play despite once again winning Quito, and he could be suffering a little fatigue at thirty-five. If Kovalik, a good player on clay, can a set, I think he will win the match: Winner: Kovalik in three sets.
Calvin Hemery vs Andrej Martin: Another young Frenchman in action, this time against the fourth seed. I do not see a shock on the cards here however.
