Martin Damm, a 22-year-old qualifier from Florida, took down Polish seventh seed Hubert Hurkacz 7-6 (5), 6-4 on Tuesday in the first round of the Open Occitanie in Montpellier, France.
While Hurkacz fired 14 aces without a double fault, Damm kept up with 13 aces of his own but also varied his attack, winning 13 of 17 net points. Ranked a career-high No. 160 in the world this week, Damm will meet Spaniard Roberto Bautista Agut in the second round.
Frenchmen won four of the six matches contested Tuesday, including No. 6 seed Arthur Fils outlasting countryman Valentin Royer 7-6 (7), 6-7 (4), 6-2 in nearly two hours and 33 minutes. It was Fils’ first match since August due to a back injury sidelining him for the fall.
Fils won an impressive 55 of 66 first-service points (83.3%).
Also from France, No. 5 seed Ugo Humbert eased past Botic van de Zandschulp of the Netherlands, 6-3, 6-4; qualifier Titouan Droguet conquered Great Britain’s Jan Choinski 6-2, 7-6 (2); and Ugo Blanchet beat Italian qualifier Andrea Vavassori 6-4, 6-3. Spain’s Pablo Carreno Busta rallied past Serbian Miomir Kecmanovic 4-6, 6-3, 7-6 (4).
–Field Level Media
