Haase Safely Through In Pune

Fifth seed Robin Haase manoeuvred his way through a testing season opener to beat Blaz Kavcic 7-6(6), 7-5 at the Tata Open Maharashtra on Tuesday.

Kavcic put up a fight against the World No. 42 breaking the Dutchman’s serve three times in the match, but it was Haase who had the answers in the important moments at the conclusion of both sets. Haase will face Chile’s Nicolas Jarry in the second-round.

Laslo Djere took two hours and 25 minutes to book his place in the second round after a titanic 5-7, 6-4, 7-5 battle with Marius Copil. The Serbian won 16 of 18 points on his first serve in the final set to help set a meeting with seventh seed Mikhail Kukushkin, who advanced on Monday.

Qualifier Thiago Monteiro ended singles action with a remarkable 6-7(4), 6-3, 7-6(8) win over Ruben Bemelmans. The Brazilian saved two break points early in the deciding set before eventually closing out the match on his fifth match point to move to the next round, where US Open finalist Kevin Anderson awaits.

There were also straight-set wins for Yuki Bhambri and Ilya Ivashka. Bhambri, competing in front of an adoring home crowd, saw off compatriot Arjun Kadhe 6-3, 6-4. Ivashka won a battle of qualifiers, topping home favourite Sumit Nagal 6-3, 6-3.

View Wednesday Schedule: Cilic And Bautista Agut Begin Pursuit Of Pune Title

Defending Champions Through In Doubles Openers

The defending doubles champions, fourth seeds Rohan Bopanna and Jeevan Nedunchezhiyan, did not have an easy draw in six-time event titlist Leander Paes and his partner, Purav Raja. But the duo moved a step closer to retaining their title nonetheless with a 6-3, 6-2 victory in 57 minutes. 

Top seeds Robert Lindstedt and Franko Skugor also moved on with relative ease, saving the two break points they faced to advance past Marton Fucsovics and Mikhail Kukushkin, 6-4, 6-1. Stunningly, the Swedish-Croatian duo won 52 per cent of points on their opponents’ first serves to claim the triumph.

And in a matchup of intriguing pairings, three-time Nitto ATP Finals doubles participant Pierre-Hugues Herbert and his partner, Gilles Simon, ousted 2017 US Open finalist Kevin Anderson and his partner, Jonathan Erlich, 3-6, 6-3, 10/5.

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