Defending Champion Mahut Starts Well On Grass

Defending champion Nicolas Mahut began his title defence with a straight-sets win on Monday at the Ricoh Open in ‘s-Hertogenbosch. Mahut, the eighth seed at the ATP World Tour 250 grass-court event, swept Slovakian qualifier Lukas Lacko 6-1, 6-4 to move into the second round. The Frenchman, who also won the title in 2013, next will play countryman Paul-Henri Mathieu, who beat American Rajeev Ram 6-4, 6-4.

Mahut had another reason to celebrate on Monday. The 34 year old became the new No. 1 in the Emirates ATP Doubles Rankings, replacing Brazil’s Marcelo Melo at the top spot.

Fifth seed Sam Querrey eked out a first-round win against Germany’s Benjamin Becker 7-6(3), 7-6(5). American Stefan Kozlov earned his first tour-level win by beating #NextGen player Yoshihito Nishioka of Japan 6-1, 2-6, 6-3 in two hours. The 18-year-old Kozlov, who turned professional three years ago, received a wild card into the tournament. He next will face fourth-seeded American Steve Johnson in the second round.