Australian tennis player Nick Kyrgios has reached the Madrid Masters second-round. The number 16 seed handed a loss to Cypriot Marcos Baghdatis on the opening day of the event. The Australian made it past the world number 64 in straight sets 7-6 (7-1) 6-4. Kyrgios fired 14 aces and converted his only break point chance during the match. The world number 20 didn't give a single break point try to the tennis player from Cyprus on Monday. It took an hour and 17 minutes for the clash to come to an end.
22-year-old Kyrgios now has two wins in two matches played thus far in his career against veteran Baghdatis.
The match on Monday was Kyrgios' first match on clay in the 2017 tennis season. He skipped the Monte Carlo Masters and decided not to play last week in Estoril due to the death of his grandfather.
Next up for 2016 Madrid quarter-finalist Kyrgios will be the winner of the match between Ryan Harrison and Bernard Tomic.
The 10th seed survives a huge scare
French tennis player Jo Wilfried Tsonga has also booked his ticket to the next stage of the Madrid Masters. The 10th seed put to the test by qualifier Andrey Kuznetsov in his first match at the tournament. The Frenchman eventually found a way to beat the Russian in a grueling encounter 7-6 (7-5) 6-7 (5-7) 7-5.
Tsonga hit nine aces and converted just one of his five break point opportunities.
The match lasted just under three hours; two hours and 49 minutes. The Frenchman now has a 3-0 head-to-head record over the Russian tennis player. More importantly, 32-year-old Tsonga bounced back after a stunning second-round exit in Monte Carlo. Tsonga, who had a first-round bye at Monte Carlo, recorded his first win on clay this year in Madrid.
Tsonga will face clay court specialist David Ferrer in next round of the Madrid event.
No problems for Lopez
Local player Feliciano Lopez did not have many problems at the Madrid Masters. The 35-year-old out-gunned America's Ernesto Escobedo in a two-set battle 6-4 6-4. It took an hour and 13 minutes for the Spaniard to collect the win in his first-ever meeting against promising Escobedo.
Spanish veteran Lopez will be facing France's Gilles Simon in the second-round of the tournament.
Jared Donaldson defeated Adrian Mannarino of France to book a spot in the next stage of the Madrid Masters. The American didn't drop a set against his French opponent in an hour and 36 minutes of action on Monday, 7-5 6-3. Donaldson, who lost in the final round of the qualifier, made the main draw after a player withdrawal. Now, he will face world number eight Dominic Thiem in Madrid next.
