Munar weathers Van Assche storm in Marrakech

Jaume Munar opened his Grand Prix Hassan II campaign with a 7-6(3), 6-2 first-round victory Monday, although the Spaniard was forced to rally early to overcome Luca Van Assche in Marrakech.

Munar trailed his #NextGenATP opponent 2-5 in the pair’s maiden Lexus ATP Head2Head clash before storming back for a one-hour, 50-minute triumph. He saved two set points with Van Assche serving at 5-3, 40/15 and was ultimately able to rescue the set. Munar then raced through the second to register his seventh tour-level win of the year.

“First of all, it’s always very difficult to play Luca,” said Munar, who lost to the Frenchman in Auckland qualifying earlier this year. “He’s a very good player, talented. I wasn’t finding my space on the court. I started a little bit slow, but then point by point I tried to hang in there and as soon as I got the break to go 4-5, I think I started to grow as a player and my level went high.”

The way Munar applied constant pressure to Van Assche’s serve proved key to his victory. The 26-year-old, currently No. 73 in the PIF ATP Rankings, converted four of seven break points he earned according to Infosys ATP Stats.

Munar will play sixth seed Alexander Shevchenko or former World No. 6 Matteo Berrettini next at an event where he defeated then-World No. 3 Alexander Zverev en route to the quarter-finals in 2019.

“I’m always happy to play in Marrakech, with a big win [against Zverev] in 2019,” said Munar of his history with the Moroccan ATP 250. “Hopefully there’s going to be many more this year.”

Another winner was Argentine Mariano Navone, who eliminated Tunisian Aziz Dougaz 6-3, 6-2. Navone's most recent tournament came in Rio de Janeiro, where he battled from qualifying to the ATP 500 final.

Pavel Kotov was also a Monday victor in Morocco. where the World No. 68 defeated home favourite Elliot Benchetrit 7-5, 6-3 for his first win in five ATP Tour matches. The 25-year-old Kotov, who reached the semi-finals in Marrakech in 2023, will take on Flavio Cobolli or Abdullah Shelbayh next.