Kitzbuhel, Austria, 10 September 2020 | Leigh Rogers

Jordan Thompson has began his clay-court season with a hard-fought victory over countryman John Millman.

The 26-year-old Thompson scored a 6-3 4-6 7-6(2) win against his Davis Cup team-mate in the Kitzbuhel opening round.

Thompson hit six aces in the two-hour, 58-minute battle to record his first career win against the 31-year-old from Brisbane.

He now plays world No.47-ranked Serbian Miomir Kecmanovic in the second round of the ATP event in Austria. Kecmanovic has a 3-0 win-loss record against the No.63-ranked Thompson, posting two of those wins earlier this season.

Australian Open 2020 finalists Max Purcell and Luke Saville defeated Alexander Bublik and Hubert Hurkacz 6-2 6-4 in first round doubles action. They lost only nine points on serve in the 54-minute match.

Mixed fortunes for Perez in Turkey

Australian qualifier Ellen Perez lost in the opening round of a WTA tournament in Istanbul.

Eighth-seeded Misaki Doi of Japan recorded a 6-7(4) 7-5 6-1 victory against the 24-year-old from New South Wales.

Oh hey it’s me 👋 https://t.co/AJ98Vu2nj2

— Ellen Perez (@EllenPerez95) September 9, 2020

Perez made a winning start in doubles though, teaming with Storm Sanders in a 7-5 6-1 victory against Laura Ioana Paar and Julia Wachaczyk.

Vukic scores big win in Czech Republic

Aleksandar Vukic has posted one of the biggest wins of his career to advance to an ATP Challenger quarterfinal in Prostejov.

The No.200-ranked Vukic defeated second-seeded Czech and three-time champion Jiri Vesely 7-6(4) 6-3.

The 24-year-old Vukic hit 13 aces to beat the world No.67, which marks the fourth top-100 win of his career and first on clay.

Vukic plays Poland’s Kamil Majchrzak next. The No.107-ranked Majchrzak advanced with a 6-3 6-2 win against Australia’s Marc Polmans.