Dominic Thiem defeats Mikhail Youzhny at Gerry Weber Open first round in Halle
Coverage continues throughout the week on Sky Sports Arena, starting at 11am on Tuesday
Monday 18 June 2018 19:10, UK
Dominic Thiem made a winning start to his grass-court campaign as the French Open runner-up defeated Mikhail Youzhny in straight-sets at the Gerry Weber Open.
World No 7 Thiem secured a 7-6 (7-5) 6-2 victory against the Russian veteran in Halle on his return to action after reaching the Roland Garros final earlier this month.
The Austrian, who has reached back-to-back semi-finals at the event, was pushed hard by the German in the first set before closing out the match in one hour and 37 minutes.
Thiem began brightly as the 24-year-old broke in the third game of the match but squandered two set points at 5-3 before being fending off two chances for the Russian on his way to winning a tight tiebreak.
Kei Nishikori had to fight through a tiebreaker to start his grass-court season with a win as he beat Matthias Bachinger.
The seventh seed, who has twice made the semi-finals, worked for just under 90 minutes to beat his 159th-ranked German opponent 6-3 7-6 (7-3) and reach the second round.
Nishikori, a former top 10 regular now ranked 27th after wrist injuries last season, was joined in the second round by fourth-seeded Spaniard Roberto Bautista Agut, who beat the second German on the day, putting out Jan-Lennard Struff 6-4 6-1.
Dutchman Robin Haase provided early drama with his 4-6 7-5 6-4 comeback victory over Portugal's Joao Sousa while Denis Kudla beat Lukas Lacko 6-4 6-4.
Yuichi Sugita ended hopes of a third German in wildcard Maximilian Marterer as the Japanese world No 52 progressed 6-4 5-7 6-3.
We will have continued coverage of the Gerry Weber Open in Halle throughout the week, live on Sky Sports Arena.
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