Hugo Gaston has known happier times. For his entry into the Cordoba tournament (ATP 250), the Frenchman, 101st in the world, was taken out by the Italian Luciano Darderi, 200th in the world, from qualifying, in two sets (6-4, 6-3).
After a poor start to the year, where he did no better than a second round at the Canberra Challenger and failed to extricate himself from qualifying for the Australian Open, Gaston hoped to perk up a bit on Argentine clay. The Frenchman has not won a match in the main draw on the big circuit since July 12 at Bastad in Sweden (victory by abandonment of Nikoloz Basilashvili).
