On Sunday, Alex Molcan defeated seventh seed Miomir Kecmanovic 7-5, 6-4 at the Mallorca Championships, ensuring that Day 1 of the ATP 250 event in the Balearic Islands began with an upset. Molcan of Slovakia won his first tour-level event on grass in his second appearance on the surface by breaking in the final game of each set. In the one-hour, 26-minute victory, the 24-year-old shot 41 winners.
In 2021, the World No. 45 advanced to the third round of Wimbledon qualifying and will make his main-draw debut on the London lawns next week. He has won his first match at each of the other three Grand Slams since last year's Wimbledon, including a third-round run at the 2021 US Open.
In the second round, Molcan will face either Dutchman Tallon Griekspoor or Spanish wild card Feliciano Lopez. After reaching three finals in the last 13 months, including this year in Marrakech and Lyon, he is looking for his first ATP Tour victory. On Sunday, the final day of qualifying, three main-draw matches were completed, with Aslan Karatsev and Mackenzie McDonald also advancing to the second round.
After conceding the first set of their respective matches, both Karatsev and McDonald rallied back to win. Karatsev defeated home favourite Jaume Munar 3-6, 6-1, 6-3 to end the day's action. After taking a 2-1 lead in the final set with an early break, the 28-year-old fought off two break points in each of his next two service games before clinching the victory with his fourth break of the match. McDonald defeated Joao Sousa in a 4-6, 7-5, 6-1 victory. The American came back from a 0/40 deficit in the second set's first game and did not face another break point the rest of the way.