Australian lucky loser Aleksandar Vukic caused a major upset on Wednesday at the Rothesay International in Eastbourne, England, defeating No. 3 seed Alexander Bublik of Kazakhstan in straight sets, 6-4, 6-4. Vukic’s victory was propelled by an impressive first-serve performance, winning 26 of 29 points on his first serve and saving all three break points he faced.
In the next round, Vukic will face Japanese qualifier Yoshihito Nishioka, who battled past Marcos Giron of the United States with a comeback victory, 6-7 (8), 6-4, 6-2. Also advancing were Australian Max Purcell and Chinese qualifier Juncheng Shang.
At the Mallorca Championships in Spain, top-seeded American Taylor Fritz advanced comfortably with a straight-sets win over Miomir Kecmanovic. Italy’s Flavio Cobolli and wild card Billy Harris of Great Britain also secured victories on the day.
In other matches, No. 1 seed Ben Shelton of the U.S. dominated Australian Rinky Hijikata, winning 6-4, 6-0. Shelton’s strong service game, which included 13 aces and saving all six break points against him, ensured a smooth path to the quarterfinals where he will meet British qualifier Paul Jubb, who also advanced in straight sets over Adam Walton of Australia.
Meanwhile, fourth-seeded Alejandro Tabilo of Chile defeated Alexander Shevchenko of Kazakhstan, while Czech Jakub Mensik outlasted Italian wild card Fabio Fognini in a three-set battle, 4-6, 6-3, 7-5.
The tournaments continue to showcase intense competition as players vie for further advancement in their respective draws.
