Dominic Thiem ekes out win in Croatia
Sports
The 2020 US Open champion, Thiem continues to forge a comeback path after a wrist injury
Umag, Croatia (Reuters) - Austria's Dominic Thiem defeated qualifier Facundo Bagnis of Argentina 6-4, 7-5 in the first round of the Plava Laguna Croatia Open Umag on Monday.
The 2020 U.S. Open champion, Thiem continues to forge a comeback path after a wrist injury and multiple other ailments in recent years. Thiem -- now ranked just No. 112 in the world -- saved all six break points he faced Monday and overcame five double faults.
In a battle of Croatian wild cards, 17-year-old Dino Prizmic beat Duje Ajdukovic 6-1, 6-2 for his first ATP Tour win. Prizmic won the boys' singles title at the French Open last month.
Japan's Taro Daniel rallied past Spanish wild card Martin Landaluce 1-6, 7-5, 6-2, and Alexei Popyrin of Australia beat Benjamin Bonzi of France 6-4, 7-5.
Hamburg European Open
Serbia's Laslo Djere upset No. 6 seed Tomas Martin Etcheverry of Argentina 7-6 (2), 6-3 in the first round in Germany.
Djere won five straight points in the first-set tiebreaker to take control, finishing the match with 27 of 36 first-service points won (75 percent).
Daniel Altmaier of Germany defeated France's Richard Gasquet 7-5, 6-4, while Luca Van Assche won a battle of two Frenchmen, topping Alexandre Muller 7-6 (3), 6-4.
Argentina's Guido Pella was a 6-3, 4-6, 6-4 winner over Brazilian Thiago Monteiro.
Atlanta Open
Australia's Thanasi Kokkinakis escaped a 4-0 deficit in the third-set tiebreaker and emerged with a 1-6, 6-3, 7-6 (5) victory over France's Gael Monfils in the first round at Atlanta.
Monfils still led 5-3 in the tiebreaker before Kokkinakis reeled off the final four points to cap a set that featured no service breaks.
In other opening-round action, Australia's Aleksandar Vukic produced a 7-6 (5), 6-3 win over U.S. wild-card entrant Ethan Quinn, who turned pro last month after starring for the University of Georgia. South Africa's Lloyd Harris rallied past Australia's James Duckworth 3-6, 6-3, 6-2, and the United States' J.J. Wolf topped Taiwan's Jason Jung 6-2, 6-1.
