Martin Klizan began his title defence in Rotterdam with a 6-4 0-6 6-1 victory over Fernando Verdasco.
The Slovakian broke twice in the first set and a break in the tenth game sealed the first set for the defending champion 6-4. However in what was a wierd match Verdasco reeled off six games in a row to grab the second set 6-0.
However Klizan would win 13 out of 15 first service points to convincingly win the third set 6-1 and book his place in the second round. Klizan will now play Phillip Kohlschreiber next, who defeated eighth seeded Frenchman Lucas Pouille 7-5 6-2 to advance in Rotterdam. The German won 82% of first service points en route to victory.
Sixth seed Jo-Wilfred Tsonga produced a brilliant performance to beat NextGen star Stefanos Tsitsipas 6-4 7-6(2). Inan edgy first set Tsonga broke in the tenth game to seal the first set 6-4, despite the early break. The second set saw a better performance from the world number 205 as he and Tsonga broke twice each in the second set as a tight affair was being produced. The second set resulted in a tiebreak, which was won by the world number 14 7-2 to seal victory.
After the match Tsonga recognised his performance today, “Even though I lost my serve [at the end], I played well,” said Tsonga. “I’m pretty happy with how I played today and hopefully I will get better every day.” Jo-Wilfred Tsonga will play big serving Gilles Muller next who dispatched Dutch wildcard Tallon Greikspoor 6-2 6-3 in 55 minutes. The world number 28 hit 14 aces en route to victory.
The other result saw Gilles Simon overcome compatriot Nicolas Mahut 3-6 6-3 6-4. Evening session matches will see Benoit Paire face top seed Marin Cilic and Borna Coric playing Andrey Kuznetsov.
