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#NextGenATP Swiss Dominic Stricker boosted his Intesa Sanpaolo Next Gen ATP Finals chances on Tuesday when he dispatched Dutchman Botic van de Zandschulp 6-2, 6-4 in Antwerp.
The 20-year-old came through qualifying at the European Open and backed up that success with a strong performance against van de Zandschulp. Stricker saved all four break points he faced and hit 19 winners to reach the second round after 88 minutes. He will next face Frenchman Richard Gasquet.
With his victory, Stricker has climbed above Matteo Arnaldi and into 10th place in the Pepperstone ATP Live Race To Milan. The lefty is currently on 422 points, 23 ahead of the Italian in 11th. With two weeks of the Race to go, 10th place is the expected cut off to qualify for the 21-and-under event.
Stricker will be aiming to have a deep run on debut at the ATP 250 event as he looks to qualify for the Intesa Sanpaolo Next Gen ATP Finals for the first time. The 21-and-under event will be held at the Allianz Cloud in Milan from 8-12 November.
In other action, Spaniard Jaume Munar clawed past Dutch qualifier Tim van Rijthoven 6-7(7), 6-4, 7-6(4) in two hours and 51 minutes. It was Munar’s first tour-level indoor hard-court victory since he beat Jiri Vesely in Astana last September.
The 25-year-old will next take on Yoshihito Nishioka after the eighth seed defeated French qualifier Luca Van Assche 5-7, 6-2, 7-6(1). Nishioka has now won six of his past seven matches dating back to his Seoul trophy run earlier this month.
Frenchman Constant Lestienne also advanced, defeating Dutch qualifier Jesper de Jong 6-3, 6-4, while Francisco Cerundolo beat Marc-Andrea Huesler 5-7, 7-6(3), 6-3.
An all-Belgian matchup closed the day's play, with David Goffin edging Gilles Arnaud Bailly 7-6(9), 5-7, 6-4 in a match that lasted over three hours. Goffin converted on all five of his break points against the wild card, while saving 13 of 18 break points against him.
He will next face third seed Diego Schwartzman.
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