Former singles World No. 19 Xavier Malisse retired in 2013 after winning three ATP Tour singles titles in a 16-year career. The Belgian also won nine doubles titles and reached a career-high of No. 25 in the Pepperstone ATP Doubles Rankings.

The 42-year-old returned to the ATP Tour last year at the European Open in Antwerp, reaching the semi-finals alongside Lloyd Harris. Malisse is again competing at the ATP 250 event in his home nation this season, this time with Diego Schwartzman.

Malisse and Schwartzman made a strong start Tuesday with a 7-6(4), 7-5 win against Raven Klaasen and Marcelo Melo in the opening round. After taking a tight opening set that did not include a break of serve, Malisse and Schwartzman won the final four games of the match to storm through the finish line from 3-5 in the second set, saving four set points as part of the late surge.

They will next face Tallon Griekspoor and Botic van de Zandschulp, who scored a 6-2, 7-5 upset against top-seeded Colombians Juan Sebastian Cabal and Robert Farah.

Third seeds Kevin Krawietz and Andreas Mies also advanced on Tuesday in Antwerp, with the Germans defeating Austrians Lucas Miedler and Alexander Erler 5-7, 7-6(4), 10-6. The British team of Daniel Evans and Jonny O’Mara moved past Serbian twin brothers Ivan Sabanov and Matej Sabanov 6-3, 6-2.

Roland Garros Champs Survive In Stockholm
Only two doubles matches were contested on Tuesday at the Stockholm Open, with Roland Garros champions Marcelo Arevalo and Jean-Julien Rojer surviving a Match Tie-break to open their campaign with a win. The top seeds edged Hans Hach Verdugo and Robert Galloway 6-2, 6-7(4), 10-5 and did not face a break point in the match,

Also advancing were Maxime Cressy and Albano Olivetti, who earned a 6-2, 6-3 win against Pavel Kotov and Alexander Shevchenko.

Upsets In Naples
Two seeded teams were eliminated on Tuesday at the Tennis Napoli Cup. The French duo of Adrian Mannarino and Fabrice Martin downed second-seeded Italians Simone Bolelli and Fabio Fognini 6-1, 6-4, while Tomislav Brkic and Gonzalo Escobar edged fourth seeds Rafael Matos and David Vega Hernandez 4-6, 6-1, 10-4.

Entering this week at a career high of No. 30 in the Pepperstone ATP Rankings, Miomir Kecmanovic lived up to his lofty ranking with a dominant start at the Tennis Napoli Cup on Tuesday.

The fifth seed dominated Italian wild card Flavio Cobolli 6-1, 6-2 as he continued his strong hard-court form this season. Kecmanovic claimed victory in just under an hour, breaking on four of his five chances while not facing a break point on his own serve. He has earned a personal-best 35 wins on the year, including two semi-final runs.

Seeking a second straight ATP Tour quarter-final after he saved six match points to defeat Daniel Evans and reach that stage in Tokyo, Kecmanovic will next face the winner of the first-round matchup between #NextGenATP Italian Luca Nardi and France’s Corentin Moutet.

The two other seeded players in action on Tuesday were both dismissed. Portugal’s Nuno Borges downed seventh seed Albert Ramos-Vinolas 7-5, 7-6(5), while Argentina’s Pedro Cachin was a 6-1, 3-6, 6-4 winner against eighth seed Adrian Mannarino.

Borges will face Daniel Elahi Galan in the second round following the Colombian’s 6-4, 6-4 win against Bernabe Zapata Miralles. With a win, Borges would reach his first tour-level quarter-final and move inside the Top 90 for the first time.

Cachin, who began the week at a career-high of World No. 57, has moved up another three places this week to No. 54 in the Pepperstone ATP Live Rankings. The 27-year-old could break into the Top 40 by winning his first ATP Tour title this week.

Also advancing on Tuesday was Japan’s Taro Daniel, who claimed a 6-3, 6-3 win against Pedro Martinez.

#NextGenATP Swiss Dominic Stricker boosted his Intesa Sanpaolo Next Gen ATP Finals chances on Tuesday when he dispatched Dutchman Botic van de Zandschulp 6-2, 6-4 in Antwerp.

The 20-year-old came through qualifying at the European Open and backed up that success with a strong performance against van de Zandschulp. Stricker saved all four break points he faced and hit 19 winners to reach the second round after 88 minutes. He will next face Frenchman Richard Gasquet.

With his victory, Stricker has climbed above Matteo Arnaldi and into 10th place in the Pepperstone ATP Live Race To Milan. The lefty is currently on 422 points, 23 ahead of the Italian in 11th. With two weeks of the Race to go, 10th place is the expected cut off to qualify for the 21-and-under event.

Stricker will be aiming to have a deep run on debut at the ATP 250 event as he looks to qualify for the Intesa Sanpaolo Next Gen ATP Finals for the first time. The 21-and-under event will be held at the Allianz Cloud in Milan from 8-12 November.

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In other action, Spaniard Jaume Munar clawed past Dutch qualifier Tim van Rijthoven 6-7(7), 6-4, 7-6(4) in two hours and 51 minutes. It was Munar’s first tour-level indoor hard-court victory since he beat Jiri Vesely in Astana last September.

The 25-year-old will next take on Yoshihito Nishioka after the eighth seed defeated French qualifier Luca Van Assche 5-7, 6-2, 7-6(1). Nishioka has now won six of his past seven matches dating back to his Seoul trophy run earlier this month.

Frenchman Constant Lestienne also advanced, defeating Dutch qualifier Jesper de Jong 6-3, 6-4.