British wild card Daniel Evans took down No. 7 seed Frances Tiafoe 7-5, 6-2 in the first round of the HSBC Championships on Monday at Queen’s Club in London.
The 35-year-old from Birmingham, England, has fallen to No. 199 in the ATP rankings, but it didn’t matter as he won 25 of 33 first-service points (76 percent) and convert 6 of 9 break-point opportunities to prevail on home soil.
No. 4 seed Holger Rune of Denmark fared better against Australian Christopher O’Connell, going 3-for-3 on break point saves in a 6-3, 6-4 victory. Czech teenager Jakub Mensik, the No. 8 seed, outlasted British wild card Cameron Norrie 7-6 (6), 1-6, 6-1.
Other winners included Spaniard Roberto Bautista Agut, Great Britain’s Jacob Fearnley and American qualifier Mackenzie McDonald.
Terra Wortmann Open
No. 3 seed Daniil Medvedev of Russia needed just 63 minutes to ease past wild card Daniel Altmaier of Germany 6-3, 6-3 in the first round in Halle, Germany.
Medvedev fired seven aces and advanced to face France’s Quentin Halys, who beat countryman Benjamin Bonzi 6-4, 6-4.
In a pair of three-setters, Stefanos Tsitsipas of Greece eked past Italy’s Luciano Darderi 6-4, 3-6, 7-6 (5), while Hungary’s Fabian Marozsan edged Serbia’s Miomir Kecmanovic 6-7 (3), 6-4, 6-4. Alexander Bublik of Kazakhstan, who won this tournament in 2023, beat France’s Alexandre Muller 6-4, 6-4 in an hour flat.
–Field Level Media
