ATP 500 in Hamburg: Mpetshi Perricard eliminates Bublik, Monfils falls short and exits early
Two French players were competing for a spot in the round of 16 of the ATP 500 tournament in Hamburg in recent hours. Giovanni Mpetshi Perricard, whose younger sister Daphnée advanced to the second round of the Roland-Garros qualifiers earlier in the day, was facing Alexander Bublik for his opening match in Germany.
Coming off a streak of six consecutive losses, the Frenchman made a strong comeback by winning the Bordeaux Challenger against Nikoloz Basilashvili last weekend.
Back at the 32nd spot in the ATP rankings, the 21-year-old continued his momentum and defeated the Kazakh player in straight sets (7-6, 6-4 in 1h23). With 35 winners against 18 unforced errors, Mpetshi Perricard advances to the round of 16 where he will face either Félix Auger-Aliassime or Daniel Altmaier.
On the other hand, Gaël Monfils was unable to get the better of Alejandro Davidovich Fokina. The Frenchman, absent since the Madrid Masters 1000 where he withdrew before his second-round match against Andrey Rublev, started well by leading 3-1 with serve, but experienced a slump that proved costly.
Ultimately, the Spaniard won in two short sets (6-3, 6-3) and moves on to the round of 16. He will face Flavio Cobolli, who had a hard-fought victory over Ukrainian player Vitaliy Sachko (5-7, 6-2, 6-2), in the next round.
Hambourg 
