Jared Donaldson edges Next Gen battle in Chengdu first round - UBITENNIS

Jared Donaldson edges Next Gen battle in Chengdu first round

By Alex Burton
2 Min Read
Donaldson is looking for a strong week to solidify his place in the Next Gen final ranking positions (Zimbio.com)

The first round in Chengdu this week featured two players who will be hoping to face each in the Next Gen finals in Milan later this year.

Jared Donaldson and Stefanos Tsitsipas did not disappoint the crowds in China as they played out an enthralling encounter in the Sichaun capital.

Tsitsipas edged a close first set on a tiebreak after no breaks of serve before Donaldson won the next two sets for a 6-7, 7-5, 7-5 win. Donaldson currently sits 6th in the rankings to qualify for the Milan Next Gen tournament. Tsitsipas is making a late bid to feature after winning his maiden Challenger title in Genoa recently and sits 16th in the Race to Milan. Donaldson will face either 6th seed Kyle Edmund or Bernard Tomic in the second round.

There was also good news for another American hoping to feature in the Finals. Taylor Fritz qualified for this tournament and then faced local wildcard Di Wu in the first round. The American came out the 7-5, 6-1 winner. He will face either Nikoloz Basilasvhili or 7th seed Viktor Troicki in the second round. Fritz is currently 11th in the Race to Milan, but a good week here could potentially see him overtake compatriot Ernesto Escobedo who is not playing an event this week.

5th seed Yuichi Sugita’s match with Ante Pavic was the only other first round action. The Japanese player eased into the next round when Pavic was forced to retire after the first set with an injury. Sugita had led 6-1. Pavic had earned an excellent win over 5th seed in qualifying Yasutaka Uchiyama.

Top seed Dominic Thiem has a first round bye, so will not get his campaign underway until at least Wednesday.

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