Defending champion Yuichi Sugita and No. 8 seed Dusan Lajovic both won their opening round matches on Monday in Antalya in a day with few upsets.
Sugita, the No. 7 seed, struggled at times against Guido Pella but eventually came through for a 6-4, 3-6, 6-4 win in just over two hours. Pella won three more total points than Sugita, but the Japanese player saved nine of 10 break points — while converting two of the three he earned.
The Argentine had an advantage behind the service line, hammering 13 aces as his opponent put just 59 percent of first serves in play. Still, the defending champion, who upset Dominic Thiem in Halle last week, rallied and saved some of his best tennis for the final game: He forced a Pella service game to deuce, edged ahead for a match point and converted it on first asking.
“It is a big pressure [to be defending champion],” Sugita said. “I want to defend the points and the title, but after the second set I just wanted to enjoy the tournament because I have good memories here. … I am really happy to win today.”
His reward is a second round clash with Pierre-Hughes Herbert, who took out Federico Delbonis 7-6, 6-4.
Lajovic also advanced in straight sets, breezing past Slovak qualifier Filip Horansky 6-3, 6-3 in just one minute over an hour. The Serb, ranked 57th in the world, faced only one break point and won an even 75 percent of points on serve. He broke in early in each set, then was unbothered as he eased into a second round meeting with Nikoloz Basilashvili. The Georgian made quick work of Roberto Carballes Baena, 6-2, 6-3.
No. 6 seed Joao Sousa had defeated Florian Mayer on Sunday, while Robin Haase, the No. 5 seed who was the highest-ranked player in action on Monday, will play the third set against Mikhail Youzhny after darkness suspended their match.
Haase won the opening set in a tiebreaker after neither player faced a break point. He trailed 4-1 in the breaker, but lured Youzhny into the net and hit pinpoint passing shots both to level the score and set up the only set point he needed. The Russian responded with a tiebreak victory of his own in the second set, despite failing to convert more than one of 11 break points — including six in one game — earlier in the frame.
