Open Occitanie—Montpellier, France
Eubanks Wins in Montpellier; Mertens Cruises in Singapore Opener
Big serving American Christopher Eubanks notched his first win of the season on Tuesday in Montpellier, France, defeating Alibek Kachmazov 7-5, 6-4.
Dropping eight aces, Eubanks won 81 percent of his first serve points, and broke his Russian opponent on three occasions.
Eubanks, who has been ranked as high as No. 29 in the world, currently stands at No. 111. The 28-year-old will next face top seed Andrey Rublev for a place in the quarterfinals. Rublev accepted a wildcard into the event.
Elsewhere on Tuesday, No. 5 seed Tallon Griekspoor, No. 7 seed Arthur Rinderknech and veteran Frenchman Richard Gasquet will be in action.
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Singapore Tennis Open— Singapore, Singapore
Tuesday’s schedule at the Singapore Tennis Open in Singapore featured No. 2 seed Elise Mertens easily reaching the second round, defeating American Taylor Townsend 6-1, 6-0.
Needing 55 minutes to advance, Mertens hit four aces, won 83 percent of his first serve points and broke serve on five occasions.
The Belgium star will next face Tatjana Maria from Germany in the second round. The 37-year-old dismissed Yuliia Starodubtseva from the Ukraine 2-6, 6-1, 6-2.
Other winners on the day saw No. 4 seed Xinyu Wang, Jil Teichmann, Maria Timofeeva, Olivia Gadecki, Kimberly Birrell and Hailey Baptiste all reach the second round.
Wednesday’s action in Singapore will feature top seed Anna Kalinskaya and No. 6 seed Camila Osorio.
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Upper Austria Ladies Linz—Linz, Austria
Tuesday’s results at the Upper Austria Ladies Linz event in Austria featured recent Auckland winner Clara Tauson advance to the second round, dismissing Anhelina Kalinina from the Ukraine 6-3, 6-3.
Needing one hour and 19 minutes to advance, Tauson hit 11 aces, won 88 percent of her first serve points, and broke her opponent on three occasions.
Currently standing at 8-1 for the season, Tauson will next face Sorana Cirstea from Romania.
Cristea ousted Arantxa Rus 5-7, 6-2, 6-3.
Other results on the day featured Antonia Ruzic from Croatia dismissing Mayar Sherif from the Republic of Egypt 6-3, 6-4.
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