Valencia Open 500 2015: Tuesday Tennis Scores, Results and Updated Draw Schedule
British No. 2 Aljaz Bedene came back from a set down to upset eighth-seeded Jeremy Chardy on Tuesday and reach the second round of the Valencia Open 500 alongside home-crowd favourite Guillermo Garcia-Lopez.
The Slovenian-born underdog dumped his French opponent out of the running at the first hurdle and will be joined by Benoit Paire and Garcia-Lopez in the next phase of the contest.
Australian Nick Kyrgios had a miserable start to proceedings later in the day, however, suffering a first-round exit at the hands of Germany's Daniel Brands.
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Here's a look at the results from Day 2 of the Valencia tournament, along with a recap of all of Tuesday's results and a look to Wednesday's schedule:
| Aljaz Bedene | 3-6, 6-2, 6-1 | Jeremy Chardy (8) |
| Mischa Zverev (Q) | 7-6(4), 6-7(2), 7-6(5) | Thomaz Bellucci |
| Daniel Brands (Q) | 6-4, 2-6, 7-6(3) | Nick Kyrgios |
| Joao Sousa | 7-6(9), 6-3 | Gilles Muller |
| Taro Daniel (Q) | 4-6, 7-6(2), 6-3 | Michal Przysiezny (Q) |
| Benoit Paire (5) | 3-6, 6-3, 6-4 | Norbert Gombos (LL) |
| Guillermo Garcia-Lopez (6) | 6-4, 3-6, 6-3 | Fernando Verdasco |
| 9 a.m. GMT/5 a.m. ET | Vasek Pospisil vs. Aljaz Bedene |
| 9 a.m. GMT/5 a.m. ET | Bernard Tomic vs. Pablo Cuevas |
| 9 a.m. GMT/5 a.m. ET | Mischa Zverev vs. Fabio Fognini |
| 10 a.m. GMT/6 a.m. ET | Roberto Bautista-Agut vs. Nicolas Almagro |
| 10 a.m. GMT/6 a.m. ET | Marcel Granollers vs. Andrey Rublev |
| 10 a.m. GMT/6 a.m. ET | Steve Johnson vs. Martin Klizan |
For the updated bracket and full draw, visit the event's official website by clicking here.
Tuesday Recap
Bedene earned widespread attention on Tuesday after returning from a set down to deliver a 3-6, 6-2, 6-1 victory over Chardy. He won 12 of the last 15 games on offer.
The 26-year-old had a wobbly start against the Frenchman, surrendering two of his opening three serves, but he found his groove to dominate the last two sets and book a second-round fixture opposite Vasek Pospisil.
Bedene exited the recent Kremlin Cup at the first hurdle and teetered on the edge of that same disappointment in Valencia, but some terrific resolve saw him dismiss Chardy in triumphant fashion.
After his victory on Day 2, Bedene—who qualified as a UK citizen in March 2015—spoke about his next opponent. "I need to be ready for his big serves—not just to put in a return but to make something of it," he said, per BBC Sport. "He's a great volleyer as well and has a great forehand, so I need to be active all the time and not lose serve as I did so easily in the first set today."
Garcia-Lopez was the first big-name Spaniard to compete in front of the Valencia audience, and the No. 6 seed dumped compatriot Fernando Verdasco out with a confident 6-4, 3-6, 6-3 display.
The game was hit by some controversy, though, thanks to a string of strange errors from Verdasco in his first-set defeat, which led Unibet's Sean Calvert and writer Stefano Berlincioni to question the loser's motives:
There was no taking away from Garcia-Lopez in what was a fine opening performance, however, particularly in a victorious third set that saw him finish without so much as a foot out of line when defending his serve with aplomb.
British fans everywhere will have been pleased to see that result, but the most entertaining match on Tuesday's schedule proved to be Mischa Zverev's triple-tiebreak win over Thomaz Bellucci.
The duo played a maximum of 39 games over three sets, and tennis writer Chris Goldsmith attested to just how hard the duel was for the victor Zverev after he saved seven break points in the first set:
The tiebreak proved cruel in the second set as Bellucci drew level, but the Brazilian looked subpar overall as he surrendered the third, again on the tiebreak, to suffer an early upset and exit the running.
It proved to be a profitable day for Germany, and following Zverev's earlier win, dark horse Brands followed suit with a 6-4, 2-6, 7-6 win against Kyrgios. As if the victory itself wasn't sweet enough for Brands, reporter Ricky Dimon confirmed it came after a massive ATP absence for the European:
Kyrgios maintained a profligate stance after surrendering the first set 6-4 despite taking a 3-0 lead, and stamina proved to be in favour of his foe as the decisive third-set tiebreak went against him.
While his talent is obvious, the Australian's mental attributes still appear to be a weakness for Kyrgios, who again went through troubles in taking a lead and holding on to it against Brands.
While Chardy fell earlier in the day, French compatriot Paire fared better as he hit back from a set down to defeat Norbert Gombos 3-6, 6-3, 6-4.
It was almost a reverse script to the one Chardy had played out against Bedene, and world No. 21 Paire was indomitable over the last two sets as he lost serve just once. He even had time to showcase his juggling skills after the win, per BetBright:
Joao Sousa also moved into the second round on Tuesday after beating Gilles Muller in straight sets 7-6, 6-3, although the first of those proved exhausting as the Portuguese topped the tiebreak 11-9.
Comebacks proved to be something of a theme on Day 2, with Japan's Daniel also suffering a one-set deficit only to defeat Michal Przysiezny 4-6, 7-6, 6-3.
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