Mahut Opens 's-Hertogenbosch Title Defence
Two-time defending champion and seventh seed Nicolas Mahut began his campaign Monday at the Ricoh Open with a 6-3, 6-4 win over Dennis Novikov. Mahut struck 15 aces to Novikov's 13, as he extended his winning streak at this ATP World Tour 250 tournament to 14 matches (including 2015 qualifying).
“Grass is coming back, so smile is coming back again to my face,” said Mahut. “When I come here [after Roland Garros], I feel like it’s so quiet. I can rest. I can feel calm again. It’s not about tennis-wise, it’s everything around it. I feel much better.”
The Frenchman, who next meets Yen-Hsun Lu or Evgeny Donskoy, also won the 's-Hertogenbosch title as a qualifier in 2013 (d. Wawrinka).
“There are so many good players every time. When I see the draw, I said it’s amazing that I won it three times. Year after year, the draw is so strong,” he said.
Eighth seed Aljaz Bedene struck eight aces and lost just 13 of his service points in a 3-6, 6-2, 6-1 victory over Denis Istomin in 79 minutes. It broke a two-match losing streak against Istomin. Bedene will now face a #NextGenATP player, American Ernesto Escobedo or Korean Hyeon Chung, in the second round.
“I played a solid match and although I lost the first set, I felt that I was the better player," said Bedene. "I felt solid on my strokes and my movement was good, despite the rain in the first set when I was broken.”
Canadian qualifier Vasek Pospisil won 75 per cent of his service points to beat Dutch wild card Tallon Griekspoor 7-5, 6-1 in 78 minutes. Pospisil, a quarter-finalist in 's-Hertogenbosch in 2014, improved to 5-2 on the season and will next face fifth seed Steve Darcis of Belgium or Ukraine's Alexandr Dolgopolov.
“It feels great... I enjoy playing on the grass. I think it fits my game well,” said Pospisil, who won the 2014 Wimbledon doubles title with American Jack Sock. “I'm just very happy to get through the match today, and I'm playing good tennis.”
[ALSO LIKE]