Australian qualifier Aleksandar Vukic thrilled the home crowd Tuesday with a 7-6 (3), 7-6 (5) upset of No. 7 seed Stefanos Tsitsipas of Greece in the first round of the Adelaide International.
Vukic withstood 13 aces in a match with no service breaks by controlling the tiebreaks, building a 4-2 lead in the first one and overcoming a 3-1 deficit in the second. His second-round opponent will be Italy’s Andre Vavassori, a 6-3, 7-6 (4) winner over Canada’s Gabriel Diallo.
No. 8 seed Tomas Machac ousted Australia’s James Duckworth 6-3, 6-3 in 72 minutes. Also advancing were Marton Fucsovics of Hungary, Quentin Halys of France, Rinky Hijikata of Australia and Alexander Shevchenko of Kazakhstan.
ASB Classic
Sixth-seeded American Alex Michelsen outlasted Argentina’s Mariano Navone 2-6, 6-2, 7-5 in the opening round in Auckland, New Zealand.
Michelsen converted five of 15 break points and finished the two-hour, 26-minute match with a 35-20 advantage in winners. Up next is compatriot Marcos Giron, a 6-2, 6-2 winner against Frenchman Alexandre Muller in just 73 minutes.
No. 8 seed Nuno Borges of Portugal also survived a three-setter, defeating Argentina’s Tomas Martin Etcheverry 7-5, 3-6, 7-6 (2). Other first-round winners included Hungary’s Fabian Marozsan, Serbia’s Hamad Medjedovic, Chile’s Alejandro Tabilo and France’s Giovanni Mpetshi Perricard.
–Field Level Media
