ROBERTO Bautista Agut survived a thriller against Italian Andreas Seppi, and Kyle Edmund won the Battle of Britain to move through to the second round of Roland Garros in the 2020 ATP fantasy tennis tournament. The 12th seed Spaniard was able to overcome Seppi in a topsy-turvy contest, eventually winning 6-1 4-6 6-0 2-6 6-2 to book a spot in the next round, whilst Edmund defeated his compatriot and highest ranked Brit Daniel Evans, 6-3 6-4 6-3 to forge a path into the second round.

Elsewhere it was a largely predictable day from the seeds with Colombian qualifier Santiago Giraldo giving world number two Novak Djokovic something to think about early before the Serbian shook him off in a 7-5 6-0 6-1 victory. Similarly, Alexander Zverev brushed past Chris O’Connell, and Karen Khachanov, Milos Raonic and Pablo Carreno Busta all moved through to the next stage of competition without dropping a set. It was not a good day for Australian hopes with O’Connell, Jordan Thompson, James Duckworth and Alexei Popyrin all smashed in their respective matches.

Of the last three, it was Khachanov, Kevin Anderson and Stefano Travaglia who all booked spots in the Round of 64 with victories of those competitors from Down Under. The talking point of the day was French teenager Hugo Gaston toppling Spanish qualifier Marcel Granollers 3-6 7-6 7-5 7-6 in a match that lasted almost three hours before the future star booked his spot in the next round.

Of the remaining winners, 28th seed Pole Hubert Hurkacz was able to get past Spanish qualifier Jaume Munar, 6-2 6-1 5-7 6-4, whilst Federico Coria downed American up-and-comer Brandon Nakashima 6-3 7-5 6-2. They joined Sweden’s Mikael Ymer, Serbia’s Dusan Lajovic, United States’ Taylor Fritz and Bolivia’s Hugo Dellien in the next round of competition.

ROUND OF 128 RESULTS:

[2] Novak Djokovic (SRB) defeated [Q] Santiago Giraldo (COL) 7-5 6-0 6-1
[7] Alexander Zverev (GER) defeated [WC] Chris O’Connell (AUS) 6-2 6-1 6-1
[12] Roberto Bautista Agut (ESP) defeated Andreas Seppi (ITA) 6-1 4-6 6-0 2-6 6-2
[16] Karen Khachanov (RUS) defeated Jordan Thompson (AUS) 7-5 6-2 6-4
[23] Milos Raonic (CAN) defeated Miomir Kecmanovic (SRB) 7-5 6-3 7-6
[24] Pablo Carreno Busta (ESP) defeated Lloyd Harris (RSA) 6-3 6-1 6-4
[28] Hubert Hurkacz (POL) defeated [Q] Jaume Munar (ESP) 6-2 6-1 5-7 6-4
Kyle Edmund (GBR) defeated [29] Daniel Evans (GBR) 6-3 6-4 6-3
Federico Coria (ARG) defeated [WC] Brandon Nakashima (USA) 6-3 7-5 6-2
Mikael Ymer (SWE) defeated Salvatore Caruso (ITA) 6-3 7-6 6-1
[WC] Hugo Gaston (FRA) defeated [Q] Marcel Granollers (ESP) 3-6 7-6 7-5 7-6
Dusan Lajovic (SRB) defeated Laslo Djere (SRB) 6-2 6-2 6-3
Taylor Fritz (USA) defeated Vasek Pospisil (CAN) 6-0 6-3 6-0
Kevin Anderson (RSA) defeated James Duckworth (AUS) 6-2 6-2 6-2
Hugo Dellien (BOL) defeated Alexander Bublik (KAZ) 7-6 7-6 6-1
Stefano Travaglia (ITA) defeated Alexei Popyrin (AUS) 6-1 6-1 6-1