Ugo Humbert upset last year’s US Open finalist Danil Medvedev 6-4 6-3 to reach the second round at the Hamburg European Open. The young Frenchman converted three of the five break points to score the 14th win in 22 matches this year.
The first set went on serve in the first six games before Medvedev earned the first break to take a 4-3 lead. Humbert broke straight back to draw leve to draw level to 4-4. Humbert broke for the second time in the 10th game to win the first set 6-4.
Medvedev saved a break point to hold serve at deuce in the fourth game to draw level to 2-2. Humbert fended off two break points and held his serve in the fifth game. Both players went on serve until the eighth game when Humbert earned his only break to win the second set 6-3.
Humbert will face Jiri Vesely, who beat Frenchman Gilles Simon 7-5 6-2.
Roberto Bautista Agut beat defending champion Nikoloz Basilashvili 6-4 6-3 to score his 15th win in 20 matches this year. Bautista Agut, who became a father on 15th September, reaches the second round in Hamburg for the third time in his career after 2013 and 2015.
Bautista Agut earned the first break of the match in the fourth game to take a 3-1 lead. Basilashvili converted his second break-back point in the seventh game to draw level to 4-4. Bautista Agut won the final two games of the second set with a break in the 10th game to win the first set 6-4.
Basilashvili earned an early break in the first game of the second set. Bautista Agut broke straight back on his third chance to draw level to 1-1. Bautista Agut converted his second break point in the fourth game to open up a 4-1 lead. Basilashvili fended off three break points in the sixth game for 2-4. Bautista Agut held his final two service games at 30 to win the second set 6-3. Bautista Agut leads 3-1 in his head-to-head matches against Basilashvili. The fourth seed set up a match against Rome Masters 1000 quarter finalist Dominik Koepfer, who edged past Yoshihito Nishioka 7-6 (7-0) 4-6 6-1.
“It was very tiring last week. I am very proud of my family and very happy to have a new baby in our lives and it was a really nice experience to live with my life. We are really proud of the kid”, said Bautista Agut.
Former Hamburg champion Fabio Fognini came back from one set down to beat Philipp Kohlschreiber 4-6 6-1 7-5 in 2 hours and 22 minutes. Fognini, who is on come-back trail after undergoing surgery on his ankle, set up a match against last week’s Rome semifinalist Casper Ruud and Benoit Paire.
Fognini held three break points in the fourth game of the first set, but he did not convert them. Kohlschreiber got his first break in the seventh game to take a 4-3 lead. Fognini did not convert two break-back points in the eighth game. Kohlschreiber served out at love in the tenth game to win the first set 6-4.
Fognini broke twice in the second and sixth games to win the second set 6-1 forcing the match to the decider.
Fognini went up a break on his fourth chance at deuce to take a 2-1 lead. Kohlschreiber broke straight back to draw level to 2-2. Fognini broke for the second time at deuce to take a 4-3 lead. Kohlschreiber broke back in the 10th game to draw level to 5-5. Fognini broke in the 11th game and served out the third set at 15.
Karen Khachanov edged Jan Lennart Struff 7-6 (7-5) 4-6 7-5 after 2 hours and 44 minutes after converting five of his nine break points. The Russian player will take on either Dusan Lajovic or Adrian Mannarino. Khachanov got his first break at love in the third game and held serve in the next game to take a 3-1 lead. Struff broke back to draw level to 4-4. Both players held serve in the next four games en route to the tie-break, where Khachanov prevailed 7-5. Struff won the second set 6-4 with a break in the seventh game. Struff broke twice in the first three games to race out to a 3-0 lead. Khachanov pulled one break back in the fourth game and held serve to claw his way back to 2-3. The Russian player pulled the second break back to draw level to 4-4. Struff broke serve in the ninth game to earn his chance to serve for the match at 5-4, but Khachanov broke straight back in the 10th game to draw level to 5-5. Khachanov sealed the win with a break at love in the 12th game.
Felix Auger Aliassime beat Lorenzo Sonego 6-2 7-6 (7-2) in 1 hour and 48 minutes. The Canadian player broke serve in the fourth game at 30 to take a 3-1 lead. Sonego was not able to earn a break point and faced three break points. Auger Aliassime converted his second chance to seal the first set 6-2.
Sonego faced two break points in the second game, but he won four consecutive points to hold his serve. Auger Aliassime faced two break points in the fifth game, but he fended them off with his serve. The Canadian player came two points away from winning the match in the 10th game, but he faced two break points in the 11th game. He saved them with his serve to send the set to the tie-break. Auger Aliassime took a 6-2 lead and closed out the tie-break on his first match point.
This year’s Kitzbuhel Yannick Hanfmann won 91 % of his first serve points to upset Gael Monfils 6-4 6-3 in 74 minutes with a break in the 10th game of the first set and another in the sixth game. The German player set up a second round match against Chile’s Christian Garin, who eased past Kei Nishikori 6-0 6-3. Garin is aiming to win his third clay title after Cordoba and Rio de Janeiro.
