| Challenger Oeiras | 04/16 12:00 | 25 | Gastao Elias v Maks Kasnikowski | View |
Wikipedia - Gastão Elias
Gastão José Ministro Elias (Portuguese pronunciation: [gɐʃˈtɐ̃w eˈliɐʃ]; born 24 November 1990) is a Portuguese professional tennis player, who competes on the ATP Tour. He became the fifth Portuguese tennis player to break into the top 100 of the Association of Tennis Professionals singles rankings. In October 2016, he reached a career-high singles ranking of world No. 57 to become the second-highest-ranked Portuguese player, after João Sousa (No. 28).
History
Professional career
2016 proved to be a breakthrough year for Elias. After winning an ATP Challenger Tour tournament in Turin by defeating Enrique López Pérez in three sets and earning position in the top 100, being ranked no. 94, Elias continued capitalizing on his Challenger Tour success as he won his sixth Challenger title in Mestre, Italy by defeating Horacio Zeballos in straight sets. In July 2016, Elias made his first splash on ATP World Tour tournament level in Båstad, Sweden after defeating Christian Lindell, Taro Daniel, and pulling an upset against compatriot João Sousa on his way to his first ATP World Tour semifinal. However, in the semifinals, Elias lost to Fernando Verdasco. Later in July 2016, Elias participated in another ATP World Tour tournament in Umag, Croatia. Elias defeated Guillermo García López in the round of 32 and then pulled one of the biggest upsets of the tournament by defeating top seeded Pablo Cuevas in a close encounter. That win marked Elias' first win over a top-20 player. Elias then defeated Pablo Carreño Busta and reached his second consecutive ATP World Tour semifinal, where he lost to Fabio Fognini in straight sets.