by Ian Marshall, Editor

Pride of place went to Florian Cnudde, Nicolas Devos and Gaeten Swartenbrouckx; all caused upsets.

Listed at no.788 on the current Men’s World Rankings, Florian Cnudde beat Austria’s Thomas Grininger, named at no.360 (11-7, 12-14, 11-2, 11-6, 11-8); likewise, Gaeten Swartenbrouckx, ranked no.964 ousted Puerto Rico’s Daniel Gonzalez rated at no.200 (11-7, 11-6, 11-9, 11-9).

Meanwhile, not to be left out Nicolas Degros, who stands at no.735, withstood a brave Spanish recovery to eventually overcame Miguel Vilchez (11-8, 11-8, 11-7, 1-11, 8-11, 3-11, 11-3); a player who in the global order of merit occupies the no.338 spot

“It was a strange match against Vilchez from Spain. I won three games fairly easy and then I let him come back. How could this happen? He changed his serve and I couldn’t win many points, my confidence dropped. In the seventh game I needed a good start. I regained my confidence. I am very happy that I won my two matches today. I am here to gain experience and hope to win as much matches as possible.” Nicolas Degros

A most worthy performance from one Belgian teenager, Nicolas Degros is 15 years old; there was also a success of note from another of the same generation, 18 years old, Laurens Devos. He beat Austria’s David Serdaroglu (10-12, 11-3, 11-6, 14-12, 11-9) to keep his aspirations intact.

“The Austrian Serdaroglu is a good player. I had I never played against him. My expectations were not very high but I managed to find my rhythm. Some games were very tight but I stayed calm and got the victory I needed. My goal now is to reach the main draw.” Laurens Devos

Success for Laurens Devos as anticipated, it was the same from Martin Allegro, he accounted for Switzerland’s Yoan Rebetez (11-4, 11-8, 11-7, 9-11, 11-4).

Play in the qualification tournament concludes on Wednesday 24th October.