Tomislav Pucar thrilled the home crowd with a dominant first-round victory at the WTT Contender Zagreb 2024, defeating Alvaro Robles in straight games (11-9, 11-8, 11-5). Robles, coming off a career-high ranking after reaching the final at WTT Contender Mendoza, was in excellent form, making Pucar's win even more impressive. Despite leading their head-to-head 3:1, Pucar anticipated a tough match, given their last encounter was a close contest.
Reflecting on his performance, Pucar noted the importance of securing the first game to gain control. "I had played him often before, and won two or three times. But now we haven't played for a while so I didn't know what to expect. I only know that he is in good shape, he played in the final of WTT Mendoza, before Zagreb. The first set was dense, but after I broke the ice there, I had the second set under control, and even won the third relatively easily," said Pucar. His next challenge is against Shunsuke Togami, who defeated Andrej Gacina, and Pucar is determined to perform his best.
In the Women's Singles, 2nd seed Shin Yubin faced an early exit after a 3-2 loss to wildcard Miyuu Kihara (11-7, 8-11, 4-11, 11-9, 11-9). Despite Shin's higher ranking, Kihara held a 4:1 head-to-head advantage and managed to rally from a 9-5 deficit in the fourth set to win six consecutive points, eventually securing the match in the decider.
Meanwhile, Satsuki Odo's unique style proved too challenging for Elizabeta Samara, as Odo won in straight games (11-5, 11-5, 11-9). Odo, who has yet to lose a singles match and boasts three WTT Feeder Series titles, faces her toughest test yet in the round of 16 against top seed Hina Hayata.
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