DAY 2 in both Cologne, Germany and Sardinia, Italy started with a bang with a couple of intriguing matches headlining the respective ATP 250 tournaments. It was a successful day for Spanish competitors across the two tournaments, while a couple of Italians were dealt unlucky hands taking on compatriots.

It was a rough day for Great Britain at Cologne, with both top ranked Brit Kyle Edmund and former world number one Andy Murray defeated in straight sets. Edmund put up a tough fight against South African Lloyd Harris, battling hard for the 7-5 7-6 result, to no avail. The two hour battle saw neither player really able to pull away with the momentum, although Harris’ marginally better service games proved critical, winning 64 per cent of his service points to Edmund’s 59 per cent. Wildcard Murray took the court in the final match of the day and was taken down by a hasty Fernando Verdasco, 6-4 6-4. With seven aces for two double faults and a more consistent first serve efficiency (65 per cent overall compared to Murray’s 51 per cent), Verdasco disposed of Murray with ease to proceed through to the second round. 

Joining Verdasco and Harris in the second round is eight seed Marin Cilic, who defeated lucky loser Marcos Giron in an intriguing three-setter, 6-2 4-6 6-3 in two and a half hours. Cilic racked up nine aces but five double faults, making it out with a solid 76 per cent winning efficiency off his first serve. Meanwhile, homegrown talent and wildcard Daniel Altmaier contested hard against Swiss qualifier Henri Laaksonen but could not come up with a win in the tough 3-6 6-3 7-6 battle, while in other games, Alejandro Davidovich Fokina and Gilles Simon came away with straight sets wins to head into the second round.

COLOGNE ROUND OF 32 RESULTS:

[Q] Lloyd Harris (RSA) defeated Kyle Edmund (GBR) 7-5 7-6
[8] Marin Cilic (CRO) defeated Marcos Giron (USA) 6-2 4-6 6-3
Alejandro Davidovich Fokina (ESP) defeated [Q] Emil Ruusuvuori (FIN) 7-5 6-4
[Q] Henri Laaksonen (SUI) defeated [WC] Daniel Altmaier (GER) 3-6 6-3 7-6
Gilles Simon (FRA) defeated Marton Fucsovics (HUN) 6-0 6-3
Fernando Verdasco (ESP) defeated [WC] Andy Murray (GBR) 6-4 6-4

It was a frustrating day for homegrown talent at the Sardinia Open, with two pairs of Italians facing off forcing Giulio Zeppieri and Gianluca Mager to the sidelines, while Andreas Seppi also went down in straight sets. On the winning front though, fifth seed Lorenzo Sonego and wildcard Marco Cecchinato defeated their respective compatriots while a couple of Spaniards in Pablo Andujar and Roberto Carballes Baena also joined the winners list.

The two seeds of the day in Sonego and Andujar were tested at points by Zeppieri and Jozef Kovalik respectively, with the latter match between Andujar and Kovalik down to the wire for a 7-5 7-5 result. The battle between the two Italians saw Sonego dominate the first set before Zeppieri bit back in the second, ultimately going down in an hour and 39 minutes, but faring well regardless of the final score in what was a solid serving match from both players. While Sonego was impressive off the first serve winning 82 per cent of points, Zeppieri was not far behind on 71 per cent making for a tight contest. In the other all-Italian battle, Cecchinato was dealt a tough hand by Mager who battled hard for a first set win, contesting well in the second before failing to maintain the same intensity in the third 5-7 7-6 6-2. 

In other games, just one of the two Argentinians made it through to the second round with Federico Delbonis downing Seppi but Federico Coria unable to contend with Carballes Baena. Meanwhile, Laslo Djere downed Sumit Nagal in 70 minutes.

SARDINIA ROUND OF 32 RESULTS:

[5] Lorenzo Sonego (ITA) defeated Giulio Zeppieri (ITA) 6-2 7-6
[6] Pablo Andujar (ESP) defeated [Q] Jozef Kovalik (SVK) 7-5 7-5
Roberto Carballes Baena (ESP) defeated Federico Coria (ARG) 7-5 6-4
[WC] Marco Cecchinato (ITA) defeated Gianluca Mager (ITA) 5-7 7-6 6-2
Federico Delbonis (ARG) defeated Andreas Seppi (ITA) 7-5 7-6
Laslo Djere (SRB) defeated [Q] Sumit Nagal (IND) 6-3 6-1