Rwanda Challenger 75 winner Valentin Royer continued his fine form in Kigali, overcoming Spain’s Oriol Rocca Batalla 6-2, 4-6, 6-3 in what was his ninth win in Challenger matches so far. The Royer vs Roca Batalla first round match was suspended on Tuesday when the duo was tied to a set a piece (6-2, 4-6) but they couldn’t continue due to darkness. Royer overcame his Spanish rival when they returned to the Kigali clay court on Wednesday, winning the third and decisive set 6-3 to book his place in the Round of 16. He will now face Italian qualifier Franco Agamenone for a spot in the quarterfinals. Agamenone, who fought through the qualifiers, will be hoping to challenge the in-form Frenchman and cause an upset when they square off on Thursday afternoon. Elsewhere on Wednesday, Clement Tabur secured a spot in the quarterfinals after seeing off countryman Geoffrey Blancaneaux in two sets 7-6(1), 6-3 while Dutch player Max Houkes staged a comeback to defeat Spain’s Alex Marti Pujolras 5-7, 6-4, 6-3. Pujolras had eliminated former World No 17 Bernard Tomic in the first round on Tuesday. Another Dutchman, Guy Den Ouden, also advanced to the next round after beating Romanian Nicholas David Ionel 7-5, 6-1. Thursday’s remaining Round of 16 matches will see Pole star Daniel Michalski take on Italian wildcard Marco Cecchinato, followed by an all-French battle between Mathys Erhard and qualifier Luka Pavlovic. Meanwhile, Italian qualifier Gabriele Pennaforti will battle fifth seed Lukas Neumayer from Austria, before Royer returns to face Agamenone in what promises to be an exciting contest. The ATP Rwanda Challenger 100, which started on Sunday, March 2, will conclude on Saturday, March 8. With Royer looking to build on last week’s triumph, the competition remains fierce as players battle for ranking points and a shot at the title in Kigali.
