Bax sets up Rwanda Open second-round showdown with Ishimwe

Second seed Florent Bax advanced to the second round of the second week of the Rwanda Open after defeating India’s Anup Bangargi in straight sets on Wednesday, setting up a highly anticipated clash with Rwanda’s Claude Ishimwe. Bax, one of the leading contenders for the M25 Kigali title, dominated from the outset before completing a comfortable 6-3, 6-0 victory at the RP Kigali/Kicukiro Ecology Tennis Court. The Frenchman will now face Ishimwe, who made history on Tuesday by becoming the first Rwandan player to reach the second round of an M25 event in Kigali. ALSO READ: Ishimwe defeats Niyigena to reach career first M25 second round Top seed Max Houkes also made a strong start to the second week after falling in the semifinals of the opening tournament, defeating Mexico’s Rodrigo Alujas 6-2, 6-3 in one hour and 30 minutes. Burundian representative Allan Gatoto, however, was eliminated in the first round after American Noah Schachter fought back from a set down to win 3-6, 6-3, 6-4. Third seed Calvin Hemery also progressed to the second round with a convincing 6-2, 6-1 victory over Germany’s Niklas Grunewald. Hemery continued the impressive form that saw him win the opening week of the M25 Kigali, where he defeated Benjamin Lock in straight sets in the final. Lock also returned to action with a 6-2, 6-2 victory over Australia’s Lawrence Bataljin, while India’s Yash Chaurasia defeated Brazil’s Lucas Franca 6-4, 6-4. The second round gets underway on Thursday, October 8, with players battling for places in the quarterfinals. Second-round fixtures Claude Ishimwe vs Florent Bax Max Houkes vs Manuel Plunger Yshai Oliel vs Alec Beckley Calvin Hemery vs Benjamin Lock Noah Schachter vs Marlon Vankan Toufik Sahtali vs Kael Shalin Shah Preston Brown vs Corentin Denolly Dev Javia vs Yash Chaurasia

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Bax sets up Rwanda Open second-round showdown with Ishimwe