Veteran Verdasco advances at Rio Open; 5th seed Garin out

RIO DE JANEIRO (AP) — Veteran Fernando Verdasco of Spain beat Serbian Dusan Lajovic 7-6 (4), 6-3 to advance to the round of 16 of the Rio Open clay court tournament. It was the 38-year-old’s first win in an ATP 500 competition since 2019. Verdasco is formerly a top-10 player but is ranked 172nd after a series of injuries. He will face Argentinian Federico Coria for a place in the quarterfinals. Two top-10 players are in the field in Rio de Janeiro. Italy’s Matteo Berretini and Norway’s Casper Ruud, who won the Argentina Open on Sunday.