THE first day of Round of 16 action at the ATP 250 tournaments in Cologne, Germany and Antwerp, Belgium, saw a consistent day across the board, with just one seed falling across the two competitions but a couple of tough matches in the mix.

At Cologne, everything went to plan for the three seeds with top seed Alexander Zverev challenged unsuccessfully by Australian John Millman while both fifth seed Felix Auger-Aliassime and eighth seed Adrian Mannarino came away with solid wins to head to the quarter finals. An excellent first set from Zverev set up victory, going 6-0 in the first before Millman came back strong in the second to force a third set from the German, eventually going down 6-0 3-6 6-3 in just under two hours. While Zverev was uncharacteristically error-ridden on his serve (10 double faults for five aces) he still managed a 79 per cent winning rate off his first serve credit to his consistency and speed on the serve.

For Auger-Aliassime, it was a far tougher battle against qualifier Egor Gerasimov, who took the Canadian to a two hour and 45 minute 4-6 7-6 7-6 marathon. With the second and third sets decided by tight tiebreakers, the Canadian showcased his ability to push through the close contest and remain in the hunt for a maiden title – especially after going down to Zverev here just a few days ago in the first of the two Cologne tournaments. While Auger-Aliassime actually came off second best for overall winning rate off his own serve, he hit 15 aces for six double faults compared to Gerasimov’s four and six respectively, and used that powerful serve to his advantage throughout. It was Auger-Aliassime’s ability to both save and win break points that got him over the line, with 60 per cent to Gerasimov’s 40 per cent paying off.

The third seed to head through was Mannarino with the Frenchman arguably winning the easiest battle of the day in Germany, coming away with the 6-3 6-3 victory over Serbian Miomir Kecmanovic in 77 minutes. Winning points off 90 per cent of his first serve, Mannarino was clinical and made sure he did not have to fall back on his less effective second serve at just 47 per cent – but still more efficient than Kecmanovic’s 42 per cent. Meanwhile, Alejandro Davidovich Fokina was the only unseeded name to proceed, defeating lower-ranked Steve Johnson in straight sets 7-6 6-3.

COLOGNE ROUND OF 16 RESULTS:

[5] Felix Auger-Aliassime (CAN) defeated [Q] Egor Gerasimov (BLR) 4-6 7-6 7-6
[1] Alexander Zverev (GER) defeated John Millman (AUS) 6-0 3-6 6-3
[8] Adrian Mannarino (FRA) defeated Miomir Kecmanovic (SRB) 6-3 6-3
Alejandro Davidovich Fokina (ESP) Steve Johnson (USA) 7-6 6-3

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At Antwerp, two of the three seeds reigned supreme, with second seed Pablo Carreno Busta ousted and one of three Spaniards to be eliminated on the day, joined by both Feliciano Lopez and Pablo Andujar on the sidelines. Both Carreno Busta and Andujar put up tough fights, though Lopez was downed by Australian Alex de Minaur in the quickest match of the day, 6-4 6-2 in an hour and 17 minutes. While both de Minaur and Lopez had similar effectiveness off their first serve, de Minaur was marginally more efficient off his second serve in a fairly consistent effort.

The Australian eighth seed – ranked 29th in the world – was also much more clean and effective on the return, winning points off just under 50 per cent of Lopez’ service games. For Carreno Busta, a first set win over Ugo Humbert was not enough with the Frenchman proving far more consistent in the 5-7 6-3 6-3 battle, going down to over two and a half hours on court. Humbert was only marginally more effective on the points front, winning 52 per cent of overall points to Carreno Busta’s 48 per cent, hitting eight aces, saving 83 per cent of break points and converting 60 per cent on the return on his way to victory.

Fourth seed Grigor Dimitrov was given a tougher go of it by Andujar, but reigned supreme with a superior winning ability off his first serve – 84 per cent – and coupled with nine aces was more effective overall in the 4-6 6-3 6-4 victory in two hours and 20 minutes. Meanwhile, Great Britain’s Daniel Evans defeated a spirited Frances Tiafoe, 7-6 6-2.

ANTWERP ROUND OF 16 RESULTS:

[8] Alex de Minaur (AUS) defeated Feliciano Lopez (ESP) 6-4 6-2
Ugo Humbert (FRA) defeated [2] Pablo Carreno Busta (ESP) 5-7 6-3 6-4
[4] Grigor Dimitrov (BUL) defeated Pablo Andujar (ESP) 4-6 6-3 6-4
Daniel Evans (GBR) defeated Frances Tiafoe (USA) 7-6 6-2