ATP Tokyo, Japan

Taylor Fritz, Casper Ruud take Tokyo openers; Beatriz Haddad Maia, Magda Linette fall in Nanchang

Tuesday's winners also included Alex de Minaur, Ben Shelton and Leylah Fernandez.



MATCH POINT: C. Ruud def. Y. Watanuki; Tokyo 1R0:54

TOKYO (AP) — Top-seeded Taylor Fritz and second-seeded Casper Ruud both won their opening matches Tuesday at the Japan Open.

Fritz beat 18th-ranked Cameron Norrie 6-4, 6-3 and Ruud defeated wild-card entry Yosuke Watanuki 7-6 (8), 6-3.

Fritz, ranked 10th in the world, had 13 aces and broke Norrie three times to improve to 7-6 against the British player.

The 25-year-old American will next play Japanese wild-card Shintaro Mochizuki, who beat Tomas Martin Etcheverry 6-4, 7-6 (5).

Ruud will next face American player Marcus Giron.

Casper Ruud of Norway hits a ball during 1st round match against Yosuke Watanuki of Japan in Japan Open Tennis Championships at Ariake Colosseum in Tokyo on October 17, 2023. Casper Ruud won the match to advance 2nd round.( The Yomiuri Shimbun via AP Images )
© Yomiuri Shimbun via AP Images

Other winners included Alex de Minaur, Alexei Popyrin, Ben Shelton, Cristian Garin and Diego Schwatzman.

Top-seeded Beatriz Haddad-Maia and second-seeded Magda Linette were both eliminated in the first round of the Jiangxi Open.

Nao Hibino upset Haddad-Maia 7-6 (2), 6-3, while Valeria Savinykh beat Linette 7-5, 3-6, 7-6 (3).

Sixth-seeded Anna Blinkova also lost, falling to Chinese qualifier You Xiaodi 6-1, 6-1, while Hong Kong Open winner Leylah Fernandez defeated wild-card Guo Hanyu 6-1, 6-3.

Other winners included Aliaksandra Sasnovich, Varvara Gravach and Ulrikke Eikeri.