2024 Lyon Open Thursday Schedule and Preview featuring Bublik and Etcheverry

ATP
Wednesday, 22 May 2024 at 23:30
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The schedule for Thursday, May 23rd, of the ATP 250 Lyon Open has been unveiled. The Lyon quarterfinals kick off with only two of the seeded players still in contention in a tournament filled with surprises and several French players among the protagonists.
Just a few days before the start of the French Open, our preview looks ahead to the quarterfinals at Lyon and the current situation of the players vying for the title before Roland Garros.

Etcheverry reaches another quarterfinal on clay

The Argentine's last year has been remarkable; 52 weeks ago, he was outside the top 80, and today, he is comfortably situated in the top 30, earning a seeding position at Roland Garros.
Etcheverry (No. 29) was a surprise package a year ago when he reached the quarterfinals and continues to demonstrate his strength on clay, reaching the quarterfinals of a tournament for the fifth time in 2024, all on the same surface. His next opponent is Dominik Koepfer (No. 67), who comes in with confidence sky-high after defeating the first seed Ugo Humbert (No. 17).

Darderi faces local favourite Rinderknech

Later, 22-year-old Luciano Darderi (No. 47) faces local Arthur Rinderknech (No. 73). The Italian with Argentine origins continues to notch up interesting victories in his career, defeating Taro Daniel (No. 81) and the third seed Adrian Mannarino (No. 22), both in straight sets. Just this month, he reached two Challenger finals and had a commendable performance at the Rome Open (with wins over Denis Shapovalov and Mariano Navone), only falling to eventual champion Alexander Zverev.
Rinderknech, on the other hand, had a poor record in the clay swing at 1-4, but this week, he secured notable wins against Dan Evans and Frances Tiafoe, making him a tough opponent for the Italian, especially with the support of the Lyon crowd.

Bublik seeks to overcome clay struggles

In the noon session, the top seed still in contention, Alexander Bublik (No. 19), faces Russian Pavel Kotov (No. 57). The talented Kazakh player has always struggled on clay and has openly expressed his dislike for the surface, as he did when he defeated Stan Wawrinka in the Rome Open a year ago: "I hate clay. It’s the statement, guys—I hate this surface," he said.
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Bublik has played 11 finals in his career (4 titles and 7 runner-ups), none of them on clay.
Despite typically poor results on clay, he had a straightforward debut against Aleksandar Vukic (No. 93). Bublik remains to be seen if he can overcome his clay reservations to continue advancing, with a great chance to vie for the title. His opponent Kotov reached the semifinals at the Marrakech Open a few weeks ago but has not maintained the same level for the rest of the clay swing.

French Showdown as Gaston faces wildcard Mpetshi Perricard

The final match of the day features qualifier Hugo Gaston (No. 104) and wildcard Giovanni Mpetshi Perricard (No. 117). Two French surprises will close out the quarterfinals in what promises to be a celebration for the local crowd, guaranteeing a representative in the semifinals. Gaston has successively defeated four South Americans, all clay specialists.
The 23-year-old defeated Argentinians Guido Andreozzi and Pedro Cachin in the qualifying rounds, then defeated Colombian Daniel Elahi Galan (No. 105) and another Argentine, 4th seed Francisco Cerundolo (No 23), in the main draw.
The relative unknown is Mpetshi Perricard, winner of three challengers this year, although all on hardcourts. At just 20 years old, he is making the transition to the professional circuit and is in the quarterfinals of an ATP tournament for the second time, following his performance at the European Open back in October 2023. The young Frenchman defeated Lorenzo Sonego (No. 50) and then benefited from a walkover to advance after the retirement of Yoshito Nishioka (No. 72).
Court Central - 11:00
Dominik Koepfer (GER) – [6]Tomas Martin Etcheverry (ARG)
Followed by:
Luciano Darderi (ITA) – Arthur Rinderknech (FRA)
Followed by:
Pavel Kotov – [2] Alexander Bublik (KAZ)
Not before 5:30 pm.
[WC] Giovanni Mpetshi Perricard (FRA) – [Q] Hugo Gaston

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