Main draw action at the East Hotel Canberra Challenger 2017 kicked off today with Aussie wildcard Andrew Harris (VIC) defeating unseeded Thomas Fancutt (QLD) in a blistering match 7-6[3], 6-4.
“The first set was pretty tough,” Harris said. “He was serving unbelievably and I was struggling to put a point on his serve.”
Today marked Harris’ first pro tournament match in two years, after suffering from two consecutive injuries.
“It’s nice to get out there on the court,” Harris said. “It’s been a long time since my last competitive match so it was a lot of fun.”
In round 2, Harris will face top seed [1] Jan-Lennard Struff (GER) on Wednesday.
Harris continued, “It’ll be a good opportunity to play another guy [in the] top 100, [and] go out there and have fun.”
The three other Aussie wildcards were not so fortunate, with [WC] Brandon Walkin (QLD) falling to Struff in straight sets. Walkin kept Struff on his feet, however the top seed’s expertise saw him win matchpoint with an ace, 6-4, 6-4.
[WC] Alexei Popyrin (NSW) put up a good fight taking the first set against third seed Pierre-Hugues Herbert (FRA) to a tie-break. However Herbert proved too strong, taking the match 7-6, 6-4.
Also through to round two are fifth and sixth seeds Konstantin Kravchuk (RUS) and Steve Darcis (BEL). Qualifier Yusuke Watanuki (JPN) and unseeded Denis Shapovalov (CAN) played a three set showdown with Shapovalov prevailing 6-7[7], 6-4, 6-4 after a two hours marathon match. France’s Quentin Halys (FRA) and Hans Podlipnik-Castillo (CHI) will also progress.
The tournament’s first doubles match played out today, as Canberra’s James Frawley played alongside Queenslander, Fancutt. The pairing were taken out in just over an hour by Frenchman Corentin Moutet and N Vijay Sundar Prashanth (IND) 6-3, 7-5.
Despite a doubles loss, Frawley will face world No.761 Aleksandar Vukic (NSW) on centre court on Day 2 at 10am.
Tournament information including Order of Play can be found here.
Watch the Canberra Pro Tour Live Stream and keep up to date with live scores using the Pro Tennis Live App.
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