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Feliciano Lopez w dwóch setach pokonał Alberta Montanesa w II rundzie rozgrywanego na kortach ziemnych turnieju ATP World Tour 500 w Barcelonie i tym samym zakończył karierę rodaka. Bernard Tomic oddał walkowerem mecz Andy'emu Murrayowi.


Po 18 sezonach dobiegła końca zawodowa kariera Alberta Montanesa. Na ostatni występ Hiszpan, były 22. tenisista świata, wybrał turniej ATP w Barcelonie, gdzie przed 16 laty odniósł pierwszy wielki sukces, pokonując mistrza Wimbledonu Gorana Ivanisevicia. W pożegnalnym starcie Montanes dotarł do II rundy. W środę właśnie w tej fazie przegrał 2:6, 2:6 z Feliciano Lopezem, swoim rodakiem i byłym kolegą z reprezentacji narodowej.


ATP Barcelona: Dominic Thiem i Alexander Zverev w 1/8 finału, porażki Davida Ferrera oraz Richarda Gasqueta
Montanesa już nie zobaczymy na zawodowych kortach, Lopez natomiast kolejny mecz rozegra w czwartek, a jego przeciwnikiem będzie Andy Murray, z którym ma bilans 0-10. Brytyjczyk do 1/8 finału awansował bez gry. W I rundzie otrzymał wolny los, z kolei spotkanie 1/16 finału walkowerem oddał mu Bernard Tomic, tłumacząc się kontuzją pleców.
W Barcelona Open BancSabadell 2017 nie ma już turniejowej "12", Philippa Kohlschreibera. Niemiec na bocznym korcie w dwóch setach uległ kwalifikantowi Hyeonowi Chungowi. Tym samym w III rundzie dojdzie do starcia dwóch niezwykle utalentowanych 20-latków. Chung zmierzy się z oznaczonym numerem ósmym Alexandrem Zverevem.

Do 1/8 finału awansował także David Goffin. Belg, ubiegłotygodniowy półfinalista z Monte Carlo, na inaugurację swoich występów w Barcelonie pokonał 7:5, 6:0 Nikołoza Basilaszwilego, notując serię dziewięciu końcowych gemów zdobytych z rzędu. Kolejnym rywalem Goffina zostanie lepszy z pary Karen Chaczanow - Pablo Cuevas.

Barcelona Open BancSabadell, Barcelona (Hiszpania)
ATP World Tour 500, kort ziemny, pula nagród 2,325 mln euro
środa, 26 kwietnia


II runda gry pojedynczej:

Andy Murray (Wielka Brytania, 1/WC) - Bernard Tomic (Australia) walkower
David Goffin (Belgia, 5) - Nikołoz Basilaszwili (Gruzja) 7:5, 6:0
Feliciano Lopez (Hiszpania, 16) - Albert Montanes (Hiszpania, WC) 6:2, 6:2
Hyeon Chung (Korea Południowa, Q) - Philipp Kohlschreiber (Niemcy, 12) 6:3, 6:4

The Catalan retires from professional tennis at the Barcelona Open Banc Sabadell
There could be no better setting to bring the curtain down on an illustrious career. At home, in front of many of those who have been with him in almost 20 years as a professional, Albert Montanes called time on his professional career at the Barcelona Open Banc Sabadell on Wednesday.
The 36-year-old Catalan bowed out in a second-round defeat to Feliciano Lopez, ending his career with six ATP World Tour titles, a career-high of No. 22 in the Emirates ATP Rankings and 542 matches in his legs.
Montanes bid farewell to the tour in his 35th match at a tournament where he made his debut 16 years ago, and where he has played every year since 2001, except in 2007. As he received an emotional reception on Pista Rafa Nadal, Montanes was joined on court by ATP Executive Chairman and President Chris Kermode, who congratulated Montanes on his incredible career.
"It's a very special moment," said Montanes. "I wanted to finish my career in a special way. It couldn't have been anywhere else. You, the public, have been essential in my career. I feel really proud to have had a very long career."
Lopez, the man responsible for ending Montanes' career, said, "These are difficult matches to play, there are lots of feelings. I've known 'Monti' since we were 13. It's difficult to play a person you know so well, knowing it could be his last match."
Later, in press, Montanes commented, "Right now it's a strange feeling. I've finished the match knowing I'm not going to play again. Maybe in a few days it will sink in. I can't believe it, but everything has to come to an end, and like I said on court, this was the right place and moment to do it. Now a new chapter in my life starts and I hope to be able to enjoy it as much as the one before."
Montanes leaves the tour with a standout clay-court record. "I've always seen myself as a clay-court player," he acknowledged. Indeed, he has accumulated more than 200 victories on the dirt, 212 in total, the 18th-best record among Spanish players on clay. Among his active countrymen, he is only bettered by Rafael Nadal, David Ferrer, Nicolas Almagro and Tommy Robredo.
"I've been lucky enough to play many years at the top, giving me the opportunity to earn so many victories," said Montanes. “I'm happy with this statistic, but it's the result of many matches and many years on tour, with very good results on clay."
He enjoyed his finest moments on the dirt. From his first ATP World Tour victory in Estoril in 2001 against Michael Chang, to every one of his six ATP World Tour crowns. The first in Amersfoort in 2008, before victories in Estoril 2009, Bucharest 2009, Estoril 2010, Stuttgart 2010 and Nice 2013.
He excelled on Portuguese clay in particular. In Estoril in 2010, he beat then World No. 1 Roger Federer in the semi-finals at a time when Nadal was the only Spaniard to have beaten the Swiss on clay. "I will always remember that win over Federer," he said. "And then I was able to win the tournament, which made it even more special.
"I look back, and it's incredible," continued Montanes. When the right-hander reflects on his career, he remembers "the huge sacrifices, the years of travelling, with many good sides and others not so good." He would do it all again, he says. "Everything I take with me is positive. I feel loved by my fellow players and I appreciate that."

ATP World Tour Season In Review: Player Retirements
Continuing our Season In Review series, ATPWorldTour.com pays tribute to six players who retired in 2017. In part two of our two-part series, we will look back at the careers of five other players, including Radek Stepanek.

Juan Monaco (Retired: 15 May), career-high No. 10
Juan Monaco exhibited both great sportsmanship and charm, performing at his best on clay courts – where he captured eight of his nine titles – during a 14-season pro career. He rose to a career-high No. 10 in the Emirates ATP Rankings on 23 July 2012 and recorded 20 victories over Top 10 opponents, including over his good friend Rafael Nadal at the 2007 Western & Southern Open in Cincinnati. Together, they won the 2015 Qatar ExxonMobil Open doubles title – one of three team crowns for the Argentinean, affectionately known as ‘Pico’. “[There is] pride to have faced so many challenges over many years,” said Monaco. “Thanks for what tennis gave me: education, discipline, friendship and unforgettable moments. [There is] sadness, because I will really miss the tennis courts [and] happiness to have had the chance to work in what I really loved since I was a kid. Knowing that dedication, sacrifice, tenacity and compromise have always been my engine, I leave with the satisfaction that I gave all I had and I want to let you know that I enjoyed until my last match.”

Albert Montanes (Retired: 27 April), career-high No. 22
Albert Montanes, the archetypical Spanish clay-courter who often completed lengthy tournament schedules each season, brought the curtain down at home at the Barcelona Open Banc Sabadell, where he’d made his debut in 2001. At 36 years of age, he accumulated 212 victories on red dirt – including six ATP World Tour crowns – and a career-high of No. 22 in the Emirates ATP Rankings. "It's a very special moment," said Montanes. "I wanted to finish my career in a special way. It couldn't have been anywhere else. You, the public, have been essential in my career. I feel really proud to have had a very long career." A career-best week for Montanes came at Estoril in 2010, when he beat then World No. 1 Roger Federer in the semi-finals – at a time when Rafael Nadal was the only Spanish to haven beaten the Swiss on clay – prior to an emotional victory over Portuguese hope Fred Gil in the final. "I will always remember that win over Federer," he said. "And then I was able to win the tournament, which made it even more special."

Grega Zemlja (Retired: 12 August), career-high No. 43
Grega Zemlja fulfilled his dream to play tennis professionally, recording a number of firsts for Slovenia – the first in the Top 50 of the Emirates ATP Rankings, and the first to play in the main draw of a Grand Slam championship – before calling it a career at the age of 30. In October 2012, he advanced to his lone ATP World Tour final, beating Tommy Haas and Janko Tipsarevic at the Erste Bank Open 500 prior to losing to Juan Martin del Potro. He won six ATP Challenger Tour titles and rose to a career-high No. 43 on 15 July 2013.

Somdev Devvarman (Retired: 2 January), career-high No. 62
Two days into the new year, the fighting spirit and passion for the sport flickered out for Somdev Devvarman, the smiling Indian, who at 31 years of age looked beyond the tramlines for a new career. The decision came 12 months on from his last ATP World Tour appearance in Chennai, where he reached the 2009 final (l. to Cilic). The sociology graduate from the University of Virginia, for whom he won back-to-back NCAA singles title in 2007 and 2008, rose to a career-high No. 62 in the Emirates ATP Rankings on 25 July 2011. That year he reached the Johannesburg final (l. to Anderson) but in 2012 he began to struggle to overcome a shoulder complaint, part of an injury-plagued career, which included five ATP Challenger Tour titles.

Giovanni Lapentti (Retired: 10 February), career-high No. 110
Giovanni Lapentti played close to 400 matches on the ATP Challenger Tour, winning 10 titles, but perhaps his finest achievement came just two weeks after 2000 Wimbledon. As a 17-year-old he fought back from a 0-2 sets deficit in the fifth and deciding rubber to beat Great Britain’s Arvind Parmar on No. 1 Court at the All England Club to record Ecuador’s first – and, to date, only – singles victory in the Davis Cup World Group. He’d also partnered his brother, Nicolas Lapentti, a day earlier to a straight-sets win in the doubles rubber. A year later, and yet to turn professional, the 6’4” Giovanni partnered Frank Dancevic to the 2001 Wimbledon junior doubles title.

Colin Fleming (Retired: 16 January), doubles career-high No. 17
Colin Fleming moved seamlessly from professional tennis to the position of National Coach for Tennis Scotland in January, after calling time on a 10-year professional career that included eight ATP World Tour titles from 19 finals. He reached a career-high No. 17 in the Emirates ATP Doubles Rankings on 9 September 2013. Ross Hutchins, the Chief Player Officer for the ATP, who won three ATP World Tour doubles titles with Fleming, said, “I wish Colin all the success in his move away from playing professional tennis. He had many fantastic tennis achievements and performed extremely well on the biggest stages in our sport. I have no doubt at all that he is an outstanding fit in his new role and will help build something very strong in Scottish tennis.”