The Grand Prix Hassan II, which is entirely funded by Morocco’s King Mohammed VI, is taking place for the very first time in Marrakech after switching from Casablanca, which had been its home since the first edition in 1986. The only ATP World Tour event to take place on the African continent signals the start of the claycourt season, a period of the year where many player’s hopes and aspirations lie.
One of those players is former finalist Albert Montañes, who continues to battle it out on tour at the age of 35 and took a further step towards returning to the top 100 with a 6-4, 6-4 victory against over qualifier Franko Skugor. The Spaniard was accompanied by two players from another strong claycourt nation – Argentina – in the second round. Facundo Bagnis and Maximo Gonzalez got opening round victories against local wildcard Lamine Ouahab (7-6, 6-2) and Daniel Muñoz de la Nava (6-1, 6-4) respectively. The other win of the day belonged to world number 115 Nikola Metkic, who grabbed his first ever ATP World Tour main draw victory after knocking out Reda El Amrani of Morocco in straight sets.
