Cameron Norrie made a winning start to 2024 in the city where he grew up, Auckland.
But the British No1 failed to convert a match point in the second set and ensure a straight-sets victory as French teenager Luca van Assche forced a decider.
Norrie was broken in the opening game of the third set but won the next six to race away from his less experienced opponent in a 6-3, 6-7, 6-1 victory in the opening round of the ASB Classic, an event he was runner-up at a year ago.
He dominated the opening set but, despite putting pressure on the van Assche serve in the second, couldn’t make it count.
In Adelaide, Dan Evans had proved victorious on his comeback to the tour since tearing his calf at the Vienna Open in October.
But following a strong start in the second round of the Adelaide International against Alexander Bublik in which he won the opening set, his opponent dominated the rest of the match for a 4-6, 6-2, 6-1 win.
Also in Adelaide, Jack Draper continued his impressive form early in the year as he gained revenge on Miomir Kecmanovic in a tight three-setter to book his passage into the quarter-finals at the Adelaide International.
It was a repeat of the Davis Cup tie, which the Serbian had won at the end of last year, but Draper managed to edge out Kecmanovic in the repeat with a 5-7, 7-6, 7-6 victory.
