Young Australian Oliver Anderson became the first teenager of 2016 to score a massive upset, as the seventeen year-old, ranked 813, beat 8th seed Dennis Novikov in a 3-6, 6-4, 6-4 comeback win.
It marks a massive win for for the Australian, as his previous career best win was over fellow teenager Duckhee Lee in a Bangkok Challenger event back in September. Novikov is the first player ranked within the top 200, at 150, that Anderson has ever defeated.
Two other seeds joined Novikov in failing to win their opening matches of 2016, as Theimo de Bakker and Norbert Gombos was also beaten in straight sets by Jurgen Zopp and Tobias Kamke respectively. Two Americans did progress, though they both had to endure three set matches. Jared Donaldson beat Frenchman 3-6,6-3, 6-4, whilst Tim Smyczek defeated Matt Reid 6-3, 6-7, 6-3. Top seed Ernests Gulbis, looking to recover from a horrible 2015, defeated Marius Copil 6-4, 6-2, fifth seed Yoshihito Nishioka raced past Lukasz Kubot 6-2, 6-0, and Ivan Dodig beat young Australian wildcard Omar Jasika
Final Round of Qualifying predictions (winners in bold):
(1) Ernests Gulbis vs (5) Yoshihito Nishioka
(2) Ivan Dodig vs (6) Jared Donaldson
Jurgen Zopp vs Tobias Kamke
(4) Tim Smyczek vs (WC) Oliver Anderson