Alexei Popyrin and Aleksandar Vukic have made strong starts to their respective grass-court seasons, scoring victories over fellow Australians.
‘s-Hertogenbosch, Netherlands, 12 June 2024 | Rhys de Deugd
‘s-Hertogenbosch, Netherlands
Two Australians have advanced to the second round at the Rosmalen Grass Court Championships in what was their first ever tour-level meetings with fellow Sydney-siders.
Alexei Popyrin got his grass-court season off to a strong start with his 6-4 6-4 win over Rinky Hijikata in one hour and 20 minutes.
The battle started in Hijikata’s favour on the Dutch grass, as he took the early break in the opening set and raced out to a 3-0 lead.
However, Popyrin served strongly when required and won 79 per cent of first-serve points, whilst saving all four of Hijikata’s break point opportunities for the remainder of the contest.
Popyrin snaps a four-match losing streak from his clay-court season, and moves into the second round of an event for the sixth time this year where he will face world No.13 Tommy Paul.
Meanwhile in another all-Aussie clash, Aleksandar Vukic scooped his third main-draw win on grass for his career at the expense of compatriot Max Purcell.
Vukic recorded 11 aces and 25 winners in an impressive display for his first match of his career in ‘s-Hertogenbosch.
The world No.87 is set to face No.4 seed Karen Khachanov in the second round.
Popyrin and Vukic take the total of Aussie men in the second round to three, as they join the top seed Alex de Minaur who received a first-round bye.
Aussies in action – ‘s-Hertogenbosch
RESULTS
Men’s singles, first round
Alexei Popyrin (AUS) d Rinky Hijikata (AUS) 6-4 6-4
Aleksandar Vukic (AUS) d Max Purcell (AUS) 6-3 7-6(5)
Milos Raonic (CAN) d [8] Jordan Thompson (AUS) 6-3 6-4
[7] Sebastian Korda (USA) d [Q] Tristan Schoolkate (AUS) 6-4 7-6(4)
Women’s singles, first round
[3] Ekaterina Alexandrova d Arina Rodionova (AUS) 6-3 6-4
COMING UP
Men’s singles, second round
[1] Alex de Minaur (AUS) v [LL] Zizou Bergs (BEL)
Alexei Popyrin (AUS) v [2] Tommy Paul (USA)
Aleksandar Vukic (AUS) v [4] Karen Khachanov
Men’s doubles, first round
[4] Max Purcell (AUS)/Jordan Thompson (AUS) v Ryan Seggerman (USA)/Patrik Trhac (USA)
John-Patrick Smith (AUS)/Andreas Mies (GER) v [3] Ivan Dodig (CRO)/Henry Patten (GBR)
Men’s doubles, quarterfinals
[WC] Rinky Hijikata (AUS)/Mackenzie McDonald (USA) v TBD
Stuttgart, Germany
Across the border into…
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