In a matchup of rising U.S. players, fifth-seeded Alex Michelsen defeated Learner Tien 6-4, 6-2 on Monday in the first round of the U.S. Men’s Clay Court Championship in Houston.
Michelsen, a 20-year-old who posted a 7-1 edge in aces, got the lone service break of the first set for a 2-1 lead. Tien, 19, dropped each of his first three service games in the second set.
Two of the other three U.S. players in action won their openers. Aleksandar Kovacevic beat seventh-seeded Tomas Martin Etcheverry of Argentina 6-3, 6-4; and qualifier Jenson Brooksby got past Japan’s Taro Daniel 6-4, 6-4.
French qualifier Corentin Denolly edged Brandon Holt 7-6 (7), 7-6 (8), with the American player squandering two set points in each tiebreaker.
Also moving into the second round was Chile’s Cristian Garin, who ousted Switzerland’s Alexander Ritschard 6-3, 6-4.
Grand Prix Hassan II
No. 5 Roberto Carballes Baena, the only seed in action, topped Morocco’s Taha Baadi 7-6 (3), 6-3 in opening-round play at Marrakech, Morocco.
Baadi produced a slight edge in winners (24-21), but that was more than offset by his 48 unforced errors. Carballes Baena gave away just 30 points.
Only two other first-round matches were completed. Bolivia’s Hugo Dellien slipped past Australia’s Aleksandar Vukic 7-5, 4-6, 7-5; and Belgium’s Raphael Collignon cruised past Italy’s Fabio Fognini 6-3, 6-3.
Tiriac Open
France’s Richard Gasquet overcame a slow start to beat the Netherlands’ Botic Van De Zandschulp 4-6, 7-5, 6-1 in the first round at Bucharest, Romania.
Gasquet recorded six of the match’s 10 service breaks, as each player had a 40 percent conversion rate on break opportunities.
Seventh-seeded Mariano Navone of Argentina advanced with a 6-1, 4-6, 6-2 decision against Serbia’s Laslo Djere, and Romanian wild-card entrant Filip Cristian Jianu toppled the United States’ Nishesh Basavareddy 6-3, 6-4.
–Field Level Media
