Hugo Dellien writes Bolivian tennis history in Rio
The 25-year-old Hugo Dellien has been the trailblazer of the Bolivian tennis, becoming world no. 2 in the last junior season and forging his way through the ATP rankings for the previous ten years. Hugo had won the first Futures title in 2013, cracking the top-300 shortly in the following year and struggling with injuries and form in the next couple of seasons to miss that final push towards the place in the top-200, the status of a regular Challenger player and the competitor in the Grand Slam qualifying draws. Starting 2017 season from outside the top-700, Dellien conquered seven Futures titles and he was ready for more exacting action in 2018, winning the first Challenger title in April in Sarasota and becoming the first Bolivian player with a Challenger crown since Mario Martinez in Messina 1983!
A few months later, Hugo set another milestone as the first Bolivian player in the top-100 since Martinez in July 1984, achieving a childhood goal and trying to ride on that wave in the season ahead of us as well. After reaching the quarter-final at Punta del Este Challenger, Hugo went to Cordoba where he managed to qualify for the main draw of his first ATP tournament, losing to Albert Ramos-Vinolas in two hours and 31 minutes. Dellien failed to reach the main draw in Buenos Aires and he fixed that in Rio de Janeiro, earning a chance to play the first ATP 500 event and claiming a 6-4, 6-4 victory over Guido Andreozzi in an hour and 27 minutes for the first ATP win! In addition, Hugo has become the first Bolivian player with an ATP win since Mario Martinez at Roland Garros in 1984, trailing 3-1 in both sets before performing a comeback that secured a historic achievement for both him and his country.
from Tennis World USA https://ift.tt/2IpoGl3
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