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| Tsitsipas advance through after defeating Ruusuvuori in Rotterdam |
On Tuesday, top
seed Stefanos Tsitsipas and defending champion Felix Auger-Aliassime advanced
to the second round of the Rotterdam ATP 500 competition.
Tsitsipas, who lost to Novak Djokovic in the Australian Open final, defeated Finnish player Emil Ruusuvuori 7-5, 6-1 in just over an hour and a half.
The third-ranked Greek will face the winner of Wednesday's match between Jannik Sinner and France's Benjamin Bonzi.
Tsitsipas said that he struggled at first to establish his stride.
"I had a chance to come back in the last game (when Ruusuvuori led 5-3). "I recovered from that, I regenerated some fantastic tennis, and I reclaimed that crucial first set," he said.
"I thought from that point onwards it was immaculate tennis. I was able to take some really good pictures."
Auger-Aliassime, the third seed in Rotterdam, easily defeated Italian Lorenzo Sonego 6-2, 6-3 as he found his form in the tournament where he defeated Tsitsipas in the final last year.
The 22-year-old Canadian will face another French player in the following round, Gregoire Barrere, who eliminated David Goffin in the opening round.
Daniil Medvedev, another championship contender, rallied from a set down to defeat Alejandro Davidovich of Spain 4-6, 6-2, 6-2.
Hubert Hurkacz of Poland, ranked 10 in the world, overcame veteran Spaniard Roberto Bautista Agut in a three-hour match.
Alexander Zverev, who is still on a return trail after injuring himself at the French Open last year, defeated South Korean Soonwoo Kwon 6-4, 7-6 (7/4).
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