Coric Advances To Marrakech Second Round

Last year’s finalist Borna Coric earned a confidence boosting 6-3, 6-2 victory over seventh seed Diego Schwartzman on Tuesday at the Grand Prix Hassan II. The #NextGenATP player is appearing at the ATP World Tour 250 tournament on the back of a third-round run at the Miami Open presented by Itau (d. Thiem, l. to Mannarino).

Coric's next opponent will be wild card Reda El Amrani. The home hope advanced to the second round when defending champion Federico Delbonis retired due to a left leg injury with the Moroccan leading 7-6(3), 1-0 after 66 minutes of play.

World No. 946 and 19-year-old wild card Amine Ahouda held his nerve to knock out eighth seed Marcel Granollers 6-4, 6-4 in one hour and 38 minutes. Granollers, who will turn 31 on Wednesday, lost to fellow Spaniard Guillermo Garcia-Lopez in the 2014 final.

“This was a very good match for me,” said Ahouda. “I felt confident after Davis Cup. Granollers is a great player and this victory means a lot to me. I’m living my dream and want to continue playing well. This is a great victory, but I want to keep going match by match. Hopefully I can continue as I love playing in front of the Moroccan crowd.”

Qualifier Gianluigi Quinzi advanced to the second round with an 7-6(8), 6-3 win over Paul-Henri Mathieu. The Italian awaits the winner of the match between fifth seed Paolo Lorenzi and Guillermo Garcia-Lopez.

Top Seed Dimitrov Ready for Robredo Start

Grigor Dimitrov, the No. 1 seed in Marrakech, will face Tommy Robredo in the second round when he begins his campaign in the Moroccan city.

"I've been here for a few days and I got a chance to see the dromedaries and go for a walk around the city," the Bulgarian told media during a press conference on Tuesday. "I’m happy to be back in competition and looking forward to my first match on Thursday. I’m facing a tough opponent and the first match of the clay season is always a tricky one."