Zurich’s Alexander Richard (ATP 190) qualified for the round of 16 of the Swiss Open by defeating Portuguese Joao Sousa (ATP 58) 6-3, 6-3. In doing so, he justified the confidence of the organizers.
It’s a great experience. […] I had a game plan, and I stuck to it meticulously.
Alexander Richard
Richard, 28, has already made use of the wildcard to enter the main draw in Gstaad. He apparently dominated the proceedings against the 33-year-old Portuguese veteran, who was the No. 8 seed at the Bernese Oberland resort.
The Zurich native, who has already represented Switzerland in the Davis Cup, celebrated his first success on the ATP Tour. In the first set, he managed the decisive break at 4-3.
He proceeded poorly in the second set after dropping his serve for the only time in the match, then tied up five games to make the score 1-3 to 6-3. And so Ritschard avoided the third set, which would have been difficult due to the sweltering heat.
A Zurich resident rejoiced, “It’s a great experience.” “I had a game plan,” he said. “I stuck to it tightly.”
In the next round, he will face the Swiss-Spanish player. It will be Jaume Munnar (ATP 63) or Barnaby Zapata Mirales (ATP 81).
