Australia's top-ranked male tennis player Alex de Minaur has scored a 6-4 6-3 win over Sebastian Korda to get his Rotterdam Open campaign underway in style.
Fifth seed de Minaur needed just 83 minutes to seal victory at the ATP500 indoor hardcourt event on Wednesday (AEDT).
Despite being out-aced 11-5 by the American, the world No.11 won 87 per cent on his first serve and survived four break points.
De Minaur broke in the 10th game to take the first set and repeated the feat in the sixth game of the decider to set up a second-round clash with Belgium's David Goffin.
"It was a match where we both didn't play our best level," said de Minaur, who is now 7-2 for the year.
"It's always difficult coming into a new tournament. It was my first time hitting on centre court and it felt like a couple of balls were skidding out there.
"I'm happy with the effort. I got through, Seb's a talented player and he was a very tricky opponent today."
In the United States, Jordan Thompson and Rinky Hijikata enjoyed opening-round wins at the Delray Beach Open.
The Australian duo were coming off disappointing early eliminations in Dallas but returned to the winners' list in Florida.
Thompson beat seventh-seeded Daniel Evans 7-5 6-0 in 90 minutes, while Hijikata did it a little tougher in seeing off another Brit in Liam Broady, 6-2 1-6 6-1.
Fellow Aussies Thanasi Kokkinakis and Max Purcell suffered straight-sets first-round losses.
Kokkinakis was crushed 6-1 6-2 by US teenager Alex Michelsen in the final match of the day, while Purcell was beaten 7-5 6-3 by another American, Zachary Svajda.
At the Argentina Open, former champion Diego Schwartzman was eliminated in the opening round, losing 2-6 6-1 6-4 to Colombia's Daniel Elahi Galan.
Argentine Schwartzman won the clay-court tournament in 2021 and lost the following year's final to Norway's Casper Ruud.
The top seeds in Buenos Aires, Rotterdam and Delray Beach - Carlos Alcaraz, Jannik Sinner and Taylor Fritz respectively - are yet to open their campaigns.
- with AP
