National holiday in California: Alejandro Tabilo advances to the second round of the Masters 1000 at Indian Wells

Chile’s number two advances to Indian Wells. Alejandro Tabilo (39th) beat Russian Pavel Kotov (67th) 4-6, 6-3 and 7-5 in two hours and eight minutes of play, to reach the second round of the first Masters 1000 of the year.

After two days of suspensions due to rain, Tabilo managed to go out and compete in his first round duel in the Californian desert. He trailed 1-2, as that was the only thing he managed to play on Thursday before bad weather halted action. Postponements that somehow suited the national team, which last week was singles finalist and doubles champion at the Chile Open, and therefore arrived in the United States very exhausted.

This fatigue was also felt from the first round, where he was unable to counter the power of the Russian. With a game that regularly looked for winning shots, Kotov broke through in the first set by signing a well-deserved 6-4.

Fortunately for the national team, things changed dramatically in the second quarter. Tabilo found the rhythm and constantly put the European in difficulty, who lost efficiency. The left-hander constantly used variations, making the game impossible for his rival to read. Without this ability to anticipate his actions, he could do little damage. A 6-2 in favor of the national team which extended the definition in California.

This change in superiority affected Kotov, who since his break in the eighth game of the second set, was completely overwhelmed by frustration. Balls to the sky and rackets to the ground which continued to be seen in the third set, especially when he suffered a break at the start.

The Russian fought, to the point of giving the break back to Tabilo, but this annoyance did not leave him. So, due to pressure and frustration, he ended up being broken by a third warning from the chair umpire. He threw the racket to the ground when he had a chance to break it and the punishment gave the Chilean a point, who then served at 6-5 in favor.

They did not lose this advantage and closed the match 7-5. In this way, his stay at Indian Wells starts off on the right foot, where he reached the round of 16 last year. Of course, in the second round will come a heavier rival: Taylor Fritz, 12th in the world and tournament champion in 2022.