Carreno Busta advances in Marrakech, earns first ATP Tour clay-court win since 2022

Pablo Carreno Busta captured his first tour-level clay-court win since 2022 on Tuesday at the Grand Prix Hassan II, where he defeated Moroccan wild card Younes Lalami Laaroussi 6-1, 6-3 to reach the second round in Marrakech.

The Spaniard won 85 per cent (22/26) of his first-serve points, according to Infosys ATP Stats, to earn just his third tour-level win of the seson after 75 minutes. Carreno Busta has missed large parts of the past two years due to an elbow injury. Fit again, the 33-year-old will seek a deep run in his second appearance in Marrakech, having reached the quarter-finals in 2016.

Up 10 spots to No. 100 in the PIF ATP Live Rankings, Carreno Busta will next meet top seed Tallon Griekspoor.

In other action, Polish qualifier Kamil Majchrzak caused an upset when he beat sixth seed Jaume Munar 6-4, 6-3. The 29-year-old’s win was his first at tour-level since Tokyo in 2022. He will play Jesper de Jong in the second round after the Dutchman eliminated Moroccan wild card Elliot Benchetrit 7-5, 6-1.

Quality from the qualifier 🙌@KamilMajchrzakk upsets the No. 6 seed Munar 6-4 6-3! #GrandPrixHassanII pic.twitter.com/QqlbaaUH20

— ATP Tour (@atptour) April 1, 2025

Finn Otto Virtanen will face fifth seed Roberto Carballes Baena in the second round after overcoming Germany’s Daniel Altmaier 6-2, 4-6, 7-6(3) to level the pair’s Lexus ATP Head2Head at 1-1. Eighth seed Mattia Bellucci, a semi-finalist in Rotterdam, downed Pavel Kotov 6-4, 6-4.

Frenchman Pierre-Hugues Herbert beat Federico Coria 4-6, 6-3, 6-2 and Hugo Gaston eliminated Juan Manuel Cerundolo 5-7, 6-3, 6-4.