RIO DE JANEIRO — No. 6-ranked and second-seeded Dominic Thiem of Austria has advanced in the Rio Open with a straight-sets victory over Serbian Dusan Lajovic.
The defending champion won 6-2, 7-5 Tuesday and will next play Spain’s Pablo Andujar in the clay-court tournament.
Frenchman Gael Monfils earned a dramatic 7-5, 3-6, 7-5 victory over Argentina’s Horacio Zeballos.
Monfils will face top-seeded and third-ranked Marin Cilic of Croatia, who is playing his first tournament since he reached the Australian Open final in January.
Third seed and 11th-ranked Pablo Carreno Busta of Spain also advanced, beating Marco Cecchinato 6-4, 6-1.
Raonic begins well
Former world No.3 Milos Raonic got his 2018 off to a roaring start with a 6-1, 7-5 rout of Taro Daniel in the first round of the Delray Beach Open Tuesday.
Raonic is ranked 32nd in the world which is vastly different than last year when he came into Delray Beach ranked fourth on the men’s ATP Tour.
Injuries limited Raonic’s time on the court in 2017 and this was just his second Tour-level win in six months.
So his straight set victory Tuesday against Japan’s Daniel is a sign of better days ahead as he seeks his ninth career Tour title.
Raonic has some unfinished business in Delray Beach. He advanced to the title match last year but hand to pull out against American Jack Sock because of a leg injury. He could meet Sock in the semifinals of this event if they both win their next two matches.
Raonic will next face American Steve Johnson, who had lost eight of his past nine matches before ousting Georgian Nikoloz Basilashvili 6-3, 6-4 in 71 minutes. In was a triumphant day for the Canadians as rising star Denis Shapovalov defeated eight-time ATP tournament winner Ivo Karlovic 7-5, 7-6 (6/4).
The 18-year old Shapovalov was just one-year old when Karlovic, 38, won his first Davis Cup match (2000) for Croatia.
In the night session, Juan Martin Del Potro cruised to a 6-2, 6-4 victory against Frenchman Jeremy Chardy.
The 29-year-old Argentinian won the title here in his debut in 2011 and has advanced to at least the semis in each of his three previous appearances.
American Taylor Fritz opened his 2018 season by surprising fourth seeded Sam Querrey 2-6, 6-3, 7-6 (7/4).
Sixth seed John Isner also got back on track in Delray Beach, avenging his loss against Moldovan Radu Albot at last week’s inaugural New York Open with a 5-7, 6-3, 6-4 win.
The American will next face Peter Gojowczyk, who won in three sets against Lukas Lacko.
Wild card Reilly Opelka stunned fellow American Ryan Harrison 7-6 (7/5), 7-6 (8/6).
Krajinovic, Khachanov win
Eighth-seeded Serb Filip Krajinovic and ninth-seeded Russian Karen Khachanov advanced to the second round of the Open 13 in Marseille Tuesday.
Krajinovic rallied to beat Joao Sousa of Portugal 3-6, 6-4, 6-4 - with both players hitting six aces and dropping serve three times- while Khachanov had 15 aces in a 6-3, 7-6 (2) win against Ruben Bemelmans of Belgium.
Krajinovic next faces French veteran Gilles Simon, who edged out Maximilian Marterer of Germany 7-6 (3), 7-6 (4) as both players dropped serve twice.
In other first-round matches Tuesday, Belarusian qualifier Ilya Ivashka won 6-3, 6-1 against Laslo Djere of Serbia; Italian qualifier Stefano Travaglia beat Hugo Gaston of France 6-2, 6-2, and Frenchman Pierre-Hugues Herbert had nine aces in a 6-2, 7-6 (3) win against Slovakian qualifier Norbert Gombos.
Herbert next faces third-seeded countryman Lucas Pouille, who recently won the Open Sud de France title in Montpellier.
