David Goffin came back from one set down in his 3-6 7-5 6-0 win over Pierre Hugues Herbert at the Antalya Open.
Both players traded breaks twice in the first set. Herbert broke for the third time in the eighth game to win the first set 6-3. Herbert went up a break in the first game
Goffin saved five match points at 4-5 in the second set and won nine consecutive games en route to winning the second set 7-5 and the third set 6-0.
Goffin has improved his unbeaten streak to 6-0 in his head-to-head matches against Herbert. The Belgian player set up a second round match against either German Matthias Bachinger or Nicola Kuhn from Spain.
“It’s always great to start the new year with a tough win, saving match points. It was definitely tricky to play against Pierre. I am happy with the way I played, especially after the beginning. I stayed in the match and believed until the end “, said Goffin.
Stefano Travaglia fought back from one set down in his 1-6 6-4 6-0 win over Serbia’s Miomir Kecmanovic setting up a second round match against Finland’s Emil Ruusuvuori, who beat Jiri Vesely from Czech Republic. Kecmanovic went up a double break in the second and fourth games to win the first set 6-1 after 27 minutes. Travaglia got his first break in the second game of the second set. Kecmanovic broke back in the seventh game. Travaglia held his serve at love in the ninth game before breaking serve to close out the second set 6-4. The 29 year-old Italian player (world number 75) broke three times to take a bagel win in the third set. He won 68 % of his first serve points.
Former world number 16 Nikoloz Basilashvili rallied from one set down to beat Italy’s Andrea Arnaboldi 4-6 7-5 6-1. The first set went on serve in the first six games. Arnaboldi earned the first break in the seventh game. Basilashvili broke straight back in the next game to draw level to 4-4. Arnaboldi earned his second break in the ninth game and held his serve to close out the first set 6-4. Basilashvili broke back in the 10th game, as Arnaboldi was serving for the match. Basilashvili broke for the second time to 15 to win the second set 7-5. The Georgian player earned two breaks in the second and fourth games to win the third set 6-1.
Basilashvili set up a second round match against Turkey’s Altug Celikbilek, who beat Poland’s Kacper Zuk 7-6 (9-7) 7-5 after 1 hour and 49 minutes. Celikbilek fended off four set points at 2-5 3-5 and at 6-7 in the tie-break.
Alexander Bublik beat Salvatore Caruso 6-3 6-3. Bublik started the match with an immediate break in the first game and won two consecutive points from 30-30 to hold serve for 6-3. Caruso saved three set points on his serve but Bublik converted his fourth break point to seal the first set 6-3.
The second set went on serve until the sixth game, when Caruso went down 0-40 for the third time in the match. Bublik broke serve with a passing shot to take a 4-2 lead. Caruso saved a match point at 3-5, but Bublik served out the match at love in the next game securing his spot in the second round where he will face either Tristan Lamasine or Egor Gerasimov.
