Egor Gerasimov of Belarus defeated No. 7 seed Guido Pella of Argentina 6-4, 6-0 in first-round action Monday at the Sardegna Open in Cagliari, Italy.
Gerasimov saved five of seven break points and swept the last nine games of the 86-minute match.
No. 8 seed Tommy Paul also made an early exit, losing 7-6 (8), 5-7, 6-3 to Germany’s Yannick Hanfmann. Serbia’s Laslo Djere posted a 6-4, 6-2 win against Italy’s Federico Gaio and Slovenia’s Aljaz Bedene rallied for a 1-6, 7-5, 7-6 (3) win against Giulio Zeppieri of Italy.
Andalucia Open
South Korea’s Soonwoo Kwon earned his first tour-level win on clay, holding off 17-year-old Holger Vitus Nodskov Rune of Denmark with a 6-3, 3-6, 7-6 (4) decision in Marbella, Spain.
The seventh-seeded Kwon twice trailed by a break in the final set of the two-hour, 23-minute match.
In other first-round action, Ricardas Berankis of Lithuania outlasted France’s Lucas Pouille 6-4, 6-7 (5), 7-5 in two hours and 50 minutes. Slovakia’s Norbert Gombos defeated Argentina’s Juan Ignacio Londero 6-7 (3), 6-1, 6-3 and No. 8 seed Federico Delbonis eliminated Spain’s Roberto Carballes Baena 7-5, 6-1.
–Field Level Media