This Sunday, Hugo Grenier launched the 31st edition of the Open 13 Provence on centre court. For his first appearance here in Marseille, the Frenchman couldn't resist Antoine Bellier. A break in each set was enough for the left-hander to win. The Swiss player will now face his compatriot Alexander Ritschard on Monday in the main draw.
Manuel Guinard was also knocked out in the first round of qualifying. The young Zsombor Piros won 6-4, 7-5 and will have to pass Lukas Klein in the next round to reach the main draw.
Shortly afterwards, it was Clément Chidekh who unfortunately followed the same path as his compatriots. After winning the first set, the young Frenchman finally collapsed in the decisive tie-break of the third set (7-1). But he can look back on this match as a positive one, having held off the 144th player in the world?
It was Laurent Lokoli who finally unlocked the French counter of the day. After a tight first set (7-5 in the tie-break), the Bastiese player took off in the second set (6-1). At 28 years old, Laurent has been playing at an excellent level for a few months and does not intend to stop there, as he himself says: "I feel confident".
But the day was punctuated by a defeat for local player Sascha Gueymard Wayenburg, who fell to an excellent Gijs Brouwer (6-4, 6-4). A day to forget for the Blues?
Note that the qualifications were free on this Sunday 19 February 2023 (exceptional access in VIP boxes) and the Marseille supporters came in number to give their voices in the stands and thus support the French.
