Hamburg: Daniil Medvedev lost his first match since reaching the U.S. Open semifinals as he was beaten 6-4, 6-3 by unseeded French player Ugo Humbert in the first round of the Hamburg European Open.
The top-seeded Medvedev was a break up at 4-3 in the first set but was broken twice in a row by Humbert, who is ranked 36 places below the Russian at 41st. This was Medvedev’s only clay-court warm-up ahead of the French Open. He hadn’t played on clay for 16 months since a first-round defeat at last year’s French Open and played only at hard-court tournaments in the last 14 months. Humbert next faces qualifier Jiri Vesely. Medvedev lost to eventual winner Dominic Thiem in the semifinals of the U.S. Open.
Third-seeded Gael Monfils was also eliminated in the first round, losing 6-4, 6-3 to 103rd-ranked Yannick Hanfmann. Hanfmann needed just 1 hour, 13 minutes to wrap up the win and the German will next face Cristian Garin, who swept past Kei Nishikori 6-0, 6-3.
Fourth-seeded Roberto Bautista-Agut won 6-4, 6-3 against two-time defending champion Nikoloz Basilashvili to set up a second-round meeting with Dominik Koepfer. Bautista Agut saved two of the four break points he faced and converted four of his nine opportunities to win in 1 hour, 25 minutes. (AP)
