Frances Tiafoe notched his first top-10 win since 2024 by taking down French Open finalist Flavio Cobolli of Italy 6-2, 7-6 (4) in the opening round at the Terra Wortmann Open on Monday in Halle, Germany.
Tiafoe, who was stopped in the Round of 16 at Roland Garros, told the ATP website he wanted to make it tough on the sixth-seeded Cobolli and help him “come down to reality” in his first match since the French Open final, where German Alexander Zverev prevailed in five sets. Tiafoe hit nine aces, won 34 of 42 first-service points (81.0%) and never faced a break point.
No. 2 seed Felix Auger-Aliassime of Canada — who fell to Cobolli in the French quarterfinals — needed three sets to put away Portugal’s Nuno Borges 6-3, 3-6, 6-3. Next, he’ll face Learner Tien, a 6-2, 6-4 winner over German wild card Max Schoenhaus. Frenchman Terence Atmane and another German wild card, Daniel Altmaier, also advanced.
HSBC Championships
No. 8 seed Tommy Paul sailed past lucky loser Zachary Svajda 7-5, 6-3 in first-round action in London, just one of three matches completed on the day.
Paul won the battle between Americans by firing 15 aces, winning a whopping 33 of 38 first-service points (86.8%) and saving all five break points he faced.
Canada’s Denis Shapovalov pulled out a 6-4, 4-6, 7-6 (3) win over British wild card Jack Pinnington Jones, while Botic van de Zandschulp of the Netherlands advanced 6-4, 7-6 (5) over another British wild card, Harry Wendelken.
–Field Level Media
