IT was a good day to be a ‘Thaigo’ in Bastad as both Thiago Agustin Tirante and Thiago Monteiro produced tournament-defining wins on Wednesday at the ATP 250 Nordea Open in Bastad. World number 121 Tirante took out top seed and world number eight Andrey Rublev, while Brazilian Monteiro proved too good for clay court specialist Casper Ruud, the second seed and 2021 champion.
Tirante matched Rublev’s power for the most part with the Argentinian producing one of his best performances to reach the quarter finals, claiming his first ever Top 20 victory on the ATP Tour. It also marked the first time he had reached the last eight of a tournament.
“I think I played a great match,” Tirante said post-match. “This is the first match I’ve played with so many people, so I was very nervous. It was my first meeting against a Top 10 [player].
“I’m very happy to play my best tennis here. I didn’t have good weeks before and this is the best of my life, so I will remember Sweden forever.”
The Argentinian won 7-6 3-6 6-4 in two hours and 24 minutes over the top-seeded Russian on centre court, continuing Rublev’s terrible recent form which has seen him win just two of his past seven matches since winning the Madrid Open back in May.
Tirante is in some great form having entered the Top 100 for the first time in 2024 a few months back, and though now just outside it, is set to re-enter it if he can reach the final of the Nordea Open. From his two wins alone the 23 year-old has moved up 11 spots to 110th in the world on the live ATP Tour rankings.
He will now take on Spaniard Roberto Carballes Baena in the last eight for a spot in the semi-finals. At the other end of the draw, Monteiro wound back the clock to roll Ruud in a huge upset, getting past the Norwegian 6-3 6-3, snapping a three-game losing streak against the world number eight.
Monteiro will face Duje Ajdukovic in the quarter finals after the Croatian worked his way past another seed – eighth seed Pavel Kotov – en route to the next round. The 30-year-old has moved up seven spots to 78th in the world.
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