Top seed Holger Rune overcame a tough season opener against Australian serve/volleyer Max Purcell to reach the second round of the Brisbane International presented by Evie on Monday.
Rune, who begins the year at No. 8 in the Pepperstone ATP Rankings, dropped the first set before locking down in the last two sets to close out a 4-6, 6-4, 6-2 win and set a meeting with World No. 48 Alexander Shevchenko.
“It was difficult at the beginning and I needed to make little adjustments. But it’s the first day of the season and I told myself to keep fighting and to find solutions,” Rune said.
The match turned in the fifth game of the third set. Having saved two break points at 15/40, the accomplished volleyer Purcell dumped back-to-back routine forehand and backhand drop volleys into the net to hand the first of two consecutive breaks to the Dane.
Earlier in the day Wimbledon quarter-finalist Roman Safiullin upset third-seeded American Ben Shelton 6-3, 6-7(5), 6-3, surviving 12 aces in the process.
Shelton struggled to make an impact on return, winning just six points against Safiullin’s first serve and failing to convert any of the five break points he earned.
World No. 17 Shelton was hoping to make a strong start to the season given that he will be defending 380 points through January following last year’s run to the Australian Open quarter-finals.
Safiullin, who starts the season at a career-high No. 39, has an opportunity to push higher in the Pepperstone ATP Rankings, with just 42 points to defend through the year’s first Grand Slam.