Aussie Alex de Minaur showed fighting spirit to beat France’s Richard Gasquet 3-6 7-6 (7-5) 6-3 at the European Open in Antwerp.
Gasquet, 34, took the opening set and was serving for the match at 5-4 in the second before de Minaur rallied to level.
De Minaur continued his momentum in the decider to progress to the second round, where he will meet veteran Feliciano Lopez.
British No.1 Dan Evans ended a five-match losing streak with a 6-2 3-6 6-3 victory over Italian Salvatore Caruso and Cameron Norrie also progressed after he beat Emil Ruusuvuori of Finland 6-3 7-6 (7-4).
There were first-round wins for American Marcos Giron and Spain’s Pablo Andujar, while South African Lloyd Harris beat Corentin Moutet 7-5 6-2.
Belgian wild card Zizou Bergs marked his debut with a 7-5 7-5 win over Spaniard Albert Ramos-Vinolas.
Today:
Men’s singles, second round
[8] Alex de Minaur (AUS) v Feliciano Lopez (ESP)
Men’s doubles, first round
[A] Alex de Minaur (AUS)/Matt Reid (AUS) v Nikola Cacic (SRB)/Marcelo Demoliner (BRA)
Men’s doubles, quarter-finals
[2] John Peers (AUS)/Michael Venus (NZL) v Simone Bolelli (ITA)/Maximo Gonzalez (ARG)
