This year’s Rome Masters 1000 winner Alexander Zverev got off to a winning start to his campaign at the s’hertogenbosch ATP 250 Tournament with a 6-2 6-3 win over Adrian Mannarino.
Zverev fended off three of the four break points he faced and converted all his five break points he created. The German Next Gen player broke serve twice in the third and seventh games to wrap up the first set by 6-2 in 22 minutes. He had to save three break points in the fourth game. Zverev got two of the three consecutive breaks which followed in the next three games to take a 4-3 lead and wrapped up the match with another break in the ninth game.
Frenchman Julien Benneteau came back from one set down to beat two-time defending champion Nicolas Mahut 2-6 6-3 6-3. Benneateau scored his first win in their four head-to-head matches. Benneateau converted on four of his 14 break points. He fended off three of the four break points and dropped serve once in the first set. Mahut saved four break points in the third game and broke serve in the next game. He held his serve in the next game to win the first set. Benneteau baounced back by breaking serve twice in the second and third sets to claim the win.
Number 8 seed Aljaz Bedene beat Ernesto Escobedo 6-3 6-4 to reach his third ATP quarter final of the season. The British player of Slovenian origin dropped just one point on his first serve and never faced a break point. Bedene converted three of his eight break points. He broke twice in the fifth and ninth games to win the first set by 6-3. Escobedo posed a stiffer challenge in the second set but dropped his serve in the final game of the match.
