(Photo credit score: Geoff Burke-USA TODAY Sports)
Kazakhstan’s Alexander Bublik and Spain’s Alejandro Davidovich Fokina each pulled off upsets of seeded Americans on Monday within the first spherical of the Rolex Paris Masters in France.
Bublik beat No. 14 seed Frances Tiafoe 6-3, 6-4, whereas Davidovich Fokina defeated Fifteenth-seeded Ben Shelton 7-6 (4), 5-7, 6-3.
Tiafoe held a 4-3 lead within the second set, however Bublik stormed again, profitable the ultimate three video games to cap a efficiency by which he swatted 11 aces and gained 30 of 34 first-service factors for the match.
Meanwhile, Davidovich Fokina transformed each of his break-point alternatives whereas overcoming 15 aces from Shelton to arrange a second-round assembly with the Netherlands’ Tallon Griekspoor, who was a 6-7 (2), 6-3, 6-4 winner towards Christopher Eubanks of the United States.
Americans Taylor Fritz, the No. 9 seed, and Tommy Paul, the No. 12 seed, made up for his or her countrymen’s losses, ousting Sebastian Baez of Argentina and French wild card Richard Gasquet, respectively.
Fritz swept Baez 6-1, 6-4 whereas Paul recovered from an unpleasant first set to down Gasquet 0-6, 6-2, 7-6 (6).
“I’m pretty happy, especially with how the match started in the first set,” Fritz mentioned. “I got an early break of serve in the second and luckily I was just able to hold on serve and finish it up.”
The victory got here at a value for Fritz, who aggravated an stomach harm.
“It’s something that’s been bothering me for a little bit. … I didn’t think it was anything too bad going in (to this match), but one where I slid out and sliced that forehand, I felt like I did something that I had never done to it before,” Fritz mentioned. “Like maybe I tore something or pulled it. So I’m going to have to get it checked out and see what’s going on.”
Sixteenth-seeded Russian Karen Khachanov, the occasion’s champion in 2018, additionally warded off an upset due to a 6-4, 6-4 sweep of Max Purcell of Australia. Another Australian, No. 13 seed Alex de Minaur, defeated Great Britain’s Andy Murray 7-6 (5), 4-6, 7-5.
Other winners Monday included Spaniard Roberto Bautista Agut, Bulgarian Grigor Dimitrov, Laslo Djere of Serbia, Chile’s Nicolas Jarry, Japanese qualifier Yoshihito Nishioka, Russian qualifier Roman Safiullin, Dutch qualifier Botic van de Zandschulp and Austrian qualifier Dominic Thiem.
–Field Level Media