Marin Cilic wins first-round match at Japan Open
Tuesday 3 October 2017 10:43, UK
Top seed Marin Cilic booked his place in the second round of the Japan Open with a straightforward 6-2 6-2 victory over qualifier Stefanos Tsitsipas.
Wimbledon runner-up Cilic needed just 73 minutes to advance as he looks to improve on last year's showing in Tokyo when he was a semi-finalist.
He will next face world no 214 Yasutaka Uchiyama, who beat Croatia's Franko Skugor 6-3 3-6 6-1, and Cilic was pleased with a strong start to his tournament.
"He's a good player, an upcoming star of men's tennis, who forced me to find my best level and a good rhythm," he said.
"At the end I was pleased with the way I served and how I played.
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US Open finalist Kevin Anderson kept up his hopes of a place at the World Tour Finals in London with a 6-2 7-6 victory over Gilles Simon
With Stan Wawrinka and Novak Djokovic already out for the rest of the season through injury, Anderson is just one place outside a qualification spot and a good run in Tokyo will put him in contention for an unlikely O2 spot.
Anderson will next face American Ryan Harrison, who needed three sets to beat Japanese qualifier Yusuke Takahashi, while France's Adrian Mannarino ended the hopes of wildcard Go Soeda with a 7-5 7-6 victory that sees him through to a second-round date with Jiri Vesely.
Vesely ended the hopes of Span's Albert Ramos-Vinolas, who became the first seeded casualty following a 6-2 2-6 6-3 defeat to the Czech.
And Australia's Bernard Tomic, now ranked 149 in the world, picked up a rare win beating Portugal's Joao Sousa in three sets for his first ATP success since Eastbourne in June.
In Beijing at the China Open, Britain's Aljaz Bedene chalked up an impressive win over Marcel Granollers, running out a 6-4 6-2 winner to advance to a meeting with another Spaniard.
Bedene will face fifth seed Roberto Bautista Agut, who dropped just four games in a 6-1 6-3 win over Chinese qualifier Ze Zhang.
Pablo Carreno Busta was the highest profile exit after a straight sets defeat to Belgian qualifier Steve Darcis, a defeat that hits his hopes of qualifying for the O2 as he currently sits seventh in the standings.
World No 4 Alexander Zverev heads the field in China this week and he kicks off his campaign against British No 2 Kyle Edmund on Tuesday - the winner will face Fabio Fognini after the Italian beat Holland's Robin Haase 7-6 6-2.
The news was mixed for a couple of the other big names on display as Fernando Verdasco crashed out at the hands of Dusan Lajovic but Mischa Zverev beat Lan Lennard Struff to advance.
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Sky Sports coverage of the ATP Tour continues on Tuesday with both the China Open and Japan Open live throughout the week, starting from 4.15am.
Sky Sports Tennis will have all the action in Asia and the Paris Masters before the Next Gen ATP Finals in Milan and season-ending extravaganza World Tour Finals at London's O2 in November covered via our website www.skysports.com/tennis with live blogs and updates as the season reaches its climax.
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