Bermudian tennis stars Tariq Simons and Trey Mallory made a clinical start on day one of the Battle of Boca Wildcard event, putting themselves firmly in the hunt for a coveted spot in Paraguay.
The stakes are incredibly high at the Florida-based tournament, where the overall winner will secure a direct main draw wildcard entry into the prestigious ITF M15K ATC Open in Asunción, Paraguay.
Simons, who was forced to take the scenic route on a busy opening day, navigated his way through two taxing matches to keep his qualification hopes alive.
In his opening Round of 64 clash, Simons delivered a highly disciplined performance to defeat Mexico's Juan Pablo Lopez in straight sets, 6-3, 6-4.
He was quickly back on court for the Round of 32, where he showed immense resilience to edge past American London Vasilescu. After wrestling through a grueling first-set tiebreak, Simons found his rhythm to close out a hard-fought 7-6, 6-4 victory.
Teammate Mallory, entering the draw as the tournament's third seed, benefited from an opening-round bye.
Mallory showed no signs of cold feet in his tournament opener, asserting his dominance early in the Round of 32. He routinely dispatched Chile’s Maximo Quiñonez with a commanding 6-2, 6-3 victory, ensuring both Bermudians advance to the next stage of the bracket in impressive fashion.
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