Tsitsipas opens 2018 Next Gen ATP finals campaign with win

Top seed Stefanos Tsitsipas opened his 2018 Next Gen ATP finals campaign with a 3-1 win over Spaniard Jaume Munar in Milan.

The Greek world number 15 had to work hard for victory in the Group A round-robin match, secured 4-3 (7/5) 4-3 (7/3) 3-4 (4/7) 4-2 in just under two hours.

The Next Gen event is played under special rules, with all players aged 21 and under.

Matches are best-of-five sets, with the first to four games in each and a tie-break at three-all as well as no advantage scoring or lets and shot clocks, while the spectators are allowed to move around during a match.

Elsewhere in Group B, last year’s runner-up Andrey Rublev beat American Taylor Fritz in a gruelling five-set match, the Russian coming through 4-2, 1-4, 3-4 (7/4), 4-3 (7/2) 4-2.

Number three seed Frances Tiafoe of the United States defeated Polish sixth seed Hubert Hurkacz 4-1 4-2 2-4 4-3 (12/10) in their opening Group A tie.

In Tuesday’s late Group B match, Australian number two seed Alex de Minaur, the world number 31, brush off Italian wild card Liam Caruana in straight sets, 4-1 4-1 4-2 after 56 minutes.