Garanganga loses in Mexico

MEXICO CITY. - Takanyi Garanganga from Zimbabwe battled through qualifying to reach the main draw of the Los Cabos Open tennis tournament in Mexico on Wednesday.

His run ended after Thomas Fabbiano won in three sets.

Meanwhile, Elias Ymer from Sweden inches closer to the top 100 with his win over ageing giant Ivo Karlovic.

A member of the Zimbabwe Davis Cup team, Garanganga, who is currently ranked 451 in the world, played his 9th ATP main draw match since his career began in 2009.

Primarily playing futures and challengers in the African circuit, Garanganga played admirably to reach the main draw, defeating 4th seed Evan King on his way.

Clinching the first set in the match, Garanganga faced a lull in the second set as Fabbiano raced to the lead, clinching the set at 6-2. A tight third set ensued, with the Zimbabwean playing some great tennis throughout the set. The Italian, however, managed to clinch the match at 7-5 in the third, ending Garanganga’s run at Los Cabos.

Elias Ymer is one of the young prospects who’s been slowly moving upwards in the world rankings. Currently just outside the top 100, Ymer needs a semi-final run at Los Cabos to seal his entry into the top 100, something that’ll definitely boost his career prospects after gaining direct entry into grand slams.

Breaking the Karlovic serve twice (a feat of its own), Ymer won in two comfortable sets, setting up a clash with 4th seed Adrian Mannarino from France. Ymer recently split with Swedish coach Robin Soderling, so it’ll be interesting to see how far he can go in this tournament.

In the doubles first round, Thomas Fabbiano and Michael Mmoh were three-set winners against Garanganga and Ernesto Escobedo. - ATP.com.