ATP roundup: Karen Khachanov starts strong in Doha

No. 6 seed Karen Khachanov of Russia bested American challenger Mackenzie McDonald 7-6 (3), 6-3, in the first round of the Qatar ExxonMobil Open on Monday at Doha, Qatar.

Khachanov served up eight aces to McDonald's one, saved all three break points he faced and went 2-for-2 in breaking McDonald's serve. The first-set tiebreak stood at 3-3 with McDonald serving when Khachanov took control and won the final four points.

No. 5 seed Daniel Evans of Great Britain, the only other seeded player in action Monday, dispatched Belarus' Egor Gerasimov 6-4, 6-4.

Alex Molcan of Slovakia rallied to beat Australian qualifier Christopher O'Connell 6-7 (4), 7-6 (6), 6-4, in nearly two hours and 36 minutes. Soonwoo Kwon of South Korea and Botic van de Zandschulp of the Netherlands also were first-round victors.

Open 13 Provence

No. 5 seed Ilya Ivashka of Belarus survived a tightly contested first set and defeated Slovakia's Norbert Gombos 7-6 (5), 6-3, in the first round at Marseilles, France.

Gombos led the first-set tiebreak 5-4 before Ivashka came back and won the last three points. Ivashka broke Gombos' serve twice and took advantage of his opponent's five double faults.

Italy's Stefano Travaglia eked out a 6-2, 6-7 (5), 7-6 (1) victory over Switzerland's Henri Laaksonen. Frenchman Richard Gasquet got by Sweden's Mikael Ymer 6-4, 7-5.

Delray Beach Open

Australia's John Millman pulled out a serving-dominated win over eighth-seeded Maxime Cressy of the United States in the first round at Delray Beach, Fla., 6-7 (2), 7-6 (2), 7-6 (3).

The match featured just two service breaks, one by each player in the second set. Each players won 80 percent of his first-serve points and saved four of the five break points on his serve.

Brandon Nakashima routed Denis Kudla 6-1, 6-1 in an all-U.S. matchup, and another American player, Steve Johnson, advanced with a 6-2, 6-7 (5), 6-2 victory over South Africa's Kevin Anderson. Italy's Andreas Seppi topped Germany's Peter Gojowczyk 7-5, 6-4, and Germany's Oscar Otte downed Yoshihito Nishioka of Japan 7-6 (8), 6-3.

Rio Open

Seventh-seeded Carlos Alcaraz came from behind to defeat Spanish countryman Jaume Munar 2-6, 6-2, 6-1 in the first round at Rio de Janeiro.

Munar had more break points in the match, 13-9, but he took advantage of just three of his opportunities while Alcaraz broke serve five times.

Another Spaniard, Pedro Martinez, beat China's Juncheng Shang 6-3 6-4. Serbia's Miomir Kecmanovic cruised past Brazil's Felipe Meligeni Rodrigues Alves 6-3, 6-0, and Spain's Pablo Andujar defeated Uruguay's Pablo Cuevas 7-6 (2), 7-5.

--Field Level Media

FILE PHOTO: Tennis - Australian Open - Melbourne Park, Melbourne, Australia - January 21, 2022 Russia's Karen Khachanov reacts during his third round match against Spain's Rafael Nadal REUTERS/Asanka Brendon Ratnayake

FILE PHOTO: Tennis - ATP Cup - Sydney Olympic Park, Sydney, Australia - January 6, 2022 Britain's Daniel Evans in action during his group stage match against John Isner of the U.S. REUTERS/Asanka Brendon Ratnayake

FILE PHOTO: Tokyo 2020 Olympics - Tennis - Men's Singles - Round 3 - Ariake Tennis Park - Tokyo, Japan - July 28, 2021. Ilya Ivashka of Belarus in action during his third round match against Kei Nishikori of Japan REUTERS/Mike Segar

FILE PHOTO: Tennis - Australian Open - Melbourne Park, Melbourne, Australia - January 18, 2022 Italy's Stefano Travaglia in action during his first round match against Spain's Roberto Bautista Agut REUTERS/James Gourley

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