American Ethan Quinn advanced to the second round of the Mallorca Championships with a straight-sets victory over France’s Valentin Royer on Monday, while British number one Jack Draper made a winning return at the Eastbourne Open.
Quinn, ranked 63rd in the world, defeated Royer 6-4, 6-3 in Mallorca, producing an efficient display on serve. The 22-year-old Californian won 82.4% of points behind his first serve and never allowed his opponent to gain sustained momentum.
Australian Adam Walton also progressed with a 6-3, 6-4 victory over compatriot Nick Kyrgios, while Jordan’s Abdullah Shelbayh claimed one of the day’s notable upsets by defeating sixth-seeded Frenchman Corentin Moutet 7-5, 6-4.
Hungary’s Fabian Marozsan survived a dramatic encounter against Slovak qualifier Alex Molcan, rallying from a set down to win 2-6, 7-6(10), 7-6(5). Marozsan saved three match points and fought off nine of 11 break points during the contest.
Elsewhere, Serbia’s Miomir Kecmanovic recovered to beat France’s Antoine Ghibaudo 2-6, 6-3, 7-6(6), while Germany’s Jan-Lennard Struff edged Spain’s Martin Landaluce 6-3, 1-6, 7-5.
DRAPER RETURNS WITH WIN
At the Eastbourne Open, Belgium’s Zizou Bergs produced an upset by defeating seventh-seeded Spaniard Jaume Munar 6-2, 6-4.
Argentine eighth seed Juan Manuel Cerundolo also advanced, overcoming Belgium’s Raphael Collignon 6-4, 4-6, 7-6(5) in a closely contested match.
Britain’s Jan Choinski recovered from a poor opening set to beat Australian Alexei Popyrin 1-6, 6-2, 6-2, while Canada’s Gabriel Diallo came through a tough three-set battle against France’s Terence Atmane, winning 6-7(7), 6-4, 7-5.
Draper, returning to action after an injury layoff, secured a confidence-boosting victory ahead of Wimbledon by defeating American Marcos Giron 6-4, 7-6(5).
The British number one, who recently added former world number one Andy Murray to his coaching team, showed little sign of rust as he advanced to the next round of the grass-court warm-up event.
Fellow Briton Jack Pinnington Jones also progressed, battling past Argentina’s Marco Trungelliti 5-7, 6-3, 7-5 to delight the home crowd.
The tournaments in Mallorca and Eastbourne represent the final opportunities for players to fine-tune their preparations before Wimbledon begins later this month.
