Bucharest Surprise Finalist Mérida Secures Wild Card for Barcelona Qualifiers
Mérida Rewarded for Epic Bucharest Run with Barcelona Qualies Wild Card. Young Spaniard, Shock Finalist in Romania, Invited to ATP 500 Qualifiers
Daniel Mérida Aguilar enjoyed the best week of his young career in early April at the ATP 250 tournament in Bucharest. Coming through qualifying in the Romanian city, the Spaniard knocked out Otto Virtanen, Adrian Mannarino, Titouan Droguet and Fabian Marozsan in succession to reach his first ATP final.
The 21-year-old then fell in the final to Mariano Navone. But that doesn't detract from Mérida's performances throughout the week. Ranked No. 136 when he started the tournament, he now sits at a career-high No. 101, on the cusp of the top 100.
And it might not be over yet, as he could have the chance to build on this strong showing in Romania over the coming days at a major tournament in his home country.
Bucharest Breakout Star, Mérida to Play Barcelona Qualifiers
Indeed, the player confirmed on his social media that he received a wild card to enter qualifying at the Barcelona ATP 500. The qualifying draw has been made, and he will face Italian Francesco Maestrelli, ATP No. 113, in his opening match in the coming hours.
Should he prevail over the latter, he would next take on Ethan Quinn or Nikoloz Basilashvili. It will be the second clash of the season between Mérida and Maestrelli. The pair, the top two seeds at the Tenerife Challenger in early February, met in that event's final.
On hard courts, the Spaniard came out on top in two sets (6-2, 6-4). Will that give him a psychological edge over his opponent ahead of their rematch this Saturday?
