No. 8 seed Nuno Borges of Portugal withstood a challenge from three-time Grand Slam winner Stan Wawrinka of Switzerland, prevailing 6-7 (4), 7-6 (1), 6-3 in first-round action at the Open 13 Provence on Tuesday in Marseille, France.
Wawrinka, playing as a wild card as he continues to attempt a comeback from injuries, had 12 aces and led the second set 4-1 before Borges stormed back to force a tiebreaker. By then, all the momentum belonged to Borges, and he finished the match having won a whopping 72 of 99 total service points (72.7 percent).
Two other matches Tuesday went the distance: China’s Zhizhen Zhang fended off France’s Quentin Halys 6-3, 6-7 (2), 7-6 (3), and lucky loser Luca Van Assche rallied past fellow Frenchman Benjamin Bonzi 3-6, 6-3, 7-6 (7).
Belgium’s Zizou Bergs, Kazakhstan’s Alexander Bublik and Germans Daniel Altmaier and Jan-Lennard Struff also advanced.
Delray Beach Open
Spanish eighth seed Alejandro Davidovich Fokina saved 2 of 3 break points and converted all three of his break-point opportunities in defeating Japanese lucky loser Taro Daniel 6-2, 7-6 (2) in the first round in Florida.
No. 9 seed Arthur Rinderknech of France topped Kazakhstan’s Dmitry Popko 6-2, 6-4, and Yoshihito Nishioka of Japan was a 6-3, 6-4 winner over Australian Aleksandar Vukic. China’s Yunchaokete Bu needed 59 minutes to race past Australia’s Rinky Hijikata 6-2, 6-0.
Two matches were left for the evening: Japan’s Kei Nishikori against American wild card Mackenzie McDonald, and Christopher Eubanks of the U.S. against countryman and wild card Reilly Opelka.
IEB+ Argentina Open
Only one match was completed in Buenos Aires before a rain delay interrupted proceedings.
No. 6 seed Sebastian Baez delighted the home crowd with a 6-4, 6-4 win over countryman Camilo Ugo Carabelli. Baez saved 6 of 7 break points he faced while breaking Carabelli three times.
Three other matches were halted during the rain, including two that were in the third set. In a matchup of Argentine qualifiers, Juan Manuel Cerundolo led Roman Andres Burruchaga 7-6 (4), 5-7, 4-2. And Spaniard Pedro Martinez was just beginning a third-set tiebreak against Damir Dzumhur of Bosnia and Herzegovina.
–Field Level Media
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