De Minaur Begins Eastbourne Trophy Defence With Victory

Alex de Minaur started his title defence at the Rothesay International with victory Monday, downing Chilean Cristian Garin 6-3, 6-3 to reach the second round in Eastbourne.

The Australian dropped just one set en route to the crown at the ATP 250 event last season and once again looked at home on the grass on the English south coast. The sixth seed broke Garin four times to advance after 83 minutes, improving to 3-0 in their ATP Head2Head series.

The 23-year-old, who holds a 14-11 record on grass, could next play Lorenzo Sonego in a rematch of last season’s final. The Italian will meet Australian qualifier James Duckworth on Tuesday.

Maxime Cressy overcame Reilly Opelka 6-3, 6-1 in an-all American battle to advance to the second round on his debut in Eastbourne.

The 25-year-old won 92 per cent (24/26) of points behind his first delivery as he served and volleyed the fifth seed off the court to move through in 60 minutes.

Cressy, who reached the quarter-finals on grass in Newport last season, will face Briton Daniel Evans or Frenchman Adrian Mannarino in the second round.