Europe, 20 October 2020 | Leigh Rogers

Cologne, Germany

Jordan Thompson and Alexei Popyrin have both lost their opening round matches at an ATP tournament in Cologne.

French veteran Gilles Simon got the better of Thompson, while eighth-seeded Frenchman Adrian Mannarino proved too strong for Popyrin.

There was better news for James Duckworth, with the 28-year-old Australian elevated into the main draw. The No.97-ranked Duckworth received a lucky loser place following the withdrawal of sixth-seeded Hubert Hurkacz of Poland.

Duckworth will face Italian wildcard Jannik Sinner, a 19-year-old who advanced to the Roland Garros quarterfinals earlier this month, in the first round.

Four Australians – Duckworth, John Millman, Max Purcell and Luke Saville – feature on the tournament’s day two schedule.

Results:

Men’s singles, first round
Gilles Simon (FRA) d Jordan Thompson (AUS) 6-3 7-5
[8] Adrian Mannarino (FRA) d [LL] Alexei Popyrin (AUS) 6-2 6-2

Coming up:

Men’s singles, first round
John Millman (AUS) v Fernando Verdasco (ESP)
[LL] James Duckworth (AUS) v [WC] Jannik Sinner (ITA)

Men’s doubles, first round
Max Purcell (AUS)/Luke Saville (AUS) v Felix Auger-Aliassime (CAN)/Robert Lindstedt (SWE)

Antwerp, Belgium

Australian John Peers has made a winning start on the opening day of play in Antwerp.

Teamed with New Zealand’s Michael Venus, the second-seeded duo recorded a straight-sets doubles victory against Brit Luke Bambridge and American Jackson Withrow.

Alex de Minaur, the newly-crowned Ultimate Tennis Showdown champion, plays his first round match on day two.

The eighth-seeded Australian faces France’s Richard Gasquet, his third meeting with the world No.54 in the past two months. De Minaur has won both of their previous meetings, in the US Open second round and yesterday’s Ultimate Tennis Showdown final.

Results:

Men’s doubles, first round 
[2] John Peers (AUS)/Michael Venus (NZL) d Luke Bambridge (GBR)/Jackson Withrow (USA) 6-4 7-5

Coming up:

Men’s singles, first round
[8] Alex de Minaur (AUS) v Richard Gasquet (FRA)

Men’s doubles, quarterfinals
[2] John Peers (AUS)/Michael Venus (NZL) v TBC