He may not be a new name to some but British tennis fans may not know of Jan Choinski, who made his debut on the ATP Tour at the Millenium Estoril Open in Portugal after successfully coming through the qualifying competition.
It’s been very nice to receive the support from the fans and the love from the organization, I couldn’t ask for something better from today. Joao Sousa
The 27-year-old of Polish-German extraction who was born in Koblenz, Germany, became a British citizen in 2013 thanks to his mother who hails from Southampton. He made the second round of Wimbledon last year and is currently ranked at 188.
On the clay courts of the Club de Tenis do Estoril, he took two-hours and 25-minutes to eventually overcome the Brazilian wildcarded Joao Fonseca 6-2 6-7(5) 6-4 to make the second round where the second seed, Poland’s Hubert Hurkacz awaits.
Arthur Fils from France celebrates wining a point during the match between Arthur Arthur Fils showed good form
(Photo by Carlos Rodrigues/Getty Images)
The biggest story of the day was 19-year-old French sensation Arthur Fils dispatching the home favourite Joao Sousa 7-5 6-4, sending the Portuguese into retirement in front of his home fans.
“I want to congratulate João for his amazing career,” Fils said on court after the match.
“He played amazing for his last match! He’s one of the toughest opponents on clay, so I’m happy about the win. I was trying to stay focused on the match and nothing else.”
A former world No. 28, Sousa announced in February that he would retire at his home tournament, which he won back in 2018.
“It’s been very nice to receive the support from the fans and the love from the organization,” said Sousa, who celebrated his 35th birthday at the tournament on Saturday. “I couldn’t ask for something better from today.”
Joao Sousa slips into retirement
(Photo by Juan Manuel Serrano Arce/Getty Images)
On the court, Sousa won four ATP singles titles and reached the second week at two Grand Slam tournaments: at the 2018 US Open and at Wimbledon in 2019.
Though Sousa put up a valiant effort on Wednesday, the wild card was ultimately overawed by the fifth-seeded teenager, who advanced into the second round after one hour and 49-minutes on court.
Up next for Fils is Cristian Garín from Chile, who defeated Austria’s Jurij Rodionov 7-6(5) 7-5 last Monday before the rains disrupted the schedule.
Also through to the second round is the world No, 87, Dutchman Botic van de Zandschulp, who defeated Argentine’s Federico Coria 6-4 4-6 6-1 to progress to meet the top seeded Casper Ruud, the defending champion from Norway.
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