Matosevic searching for form
A 10th straight loss for Marinko Matosevic has left the Australian in search of form as he prepares for Wimbledon.
's-Hertogenbosch, Netherlands, 9 June 2015 | AAP
Marinko Matosevic’s miserable season has continued after the Australian slumped to his 10th successive defeat at the ATP event in ‘s-Hertogenbosch, Netherlands.
Matosevic went down 6-3 6-2 to Canadian Vasek Pospisil in the first round of the Topshelf Open on Monday.
It was Matosevic’s 14th loss in 17 matches this year; the last time the 29-year-old won a match was against Spaniard Marcel Granollers in Delray Beach on February 23.
Matosevic’s results have bumped him out of the top 100 for the first time in three years and leave him ranked world No.122.
A little more than two years ago he was Australia’s top-ranked player at world No.39.
Matosevic was still guaranteed a spot in the main draw in the Netherlands because his ranking was high enough when entries closed last month.
“I executed my game plan well,” said Pospisil, who claimed his first singles win since March and will now face Luxembourg’s Gilles Muller in the second round.
“I was serving well, which is obviously crucial on this surface.
“There were maybe a few nerves at the end there, but overall I’m really happy and pleased with the way I played.”
Lleyton Hewitt, who sat out the French Open after 14 consecutive starts, will face Frenchman Nicolas Mahut in the first round on Tuesday.
Tomljanovic out of Nottingham
Meanwhile, Australian eighth seed Ajla Tomljanovic has been knocked out of the first round of the Nottingham Open.
The Croatian-born star who calls Brisbane home was one of two seeds to taste defeat on Monday as top-level women’s tennis return to the central England grass-court venue for the first time in 42 years.
Tomljanovic went down 4-6 7-6(1) 7-5 to Lauren Davis of the United States, after serving for the match at 5-4 in the third set.