#NextGenATP Star Svrcina Advances In Zhuhai

#NextGenATP Czech Dalibor Svrcina captured his second tour-level win on Wednesday when he moved past Chinese wild card Li Zhe 6-4, 6-3 at the Huafa Properties Zhuhai Championships.

The 20-year-old, who earned his only previous tour-level victory at the Australian Open in January, limited mistakes throughout the one-hour, 31-minute clash. Svrcina committed just five unforced errors, while he struck 18 winners to reach the second round at the ATP 250.

The Czech star is 14th in the Pepperstone ATP Live Race To Jeddah and knows a deep run in Zhuhai will further boost his chances of qualifying for the Next Gen ATP Finals. He will next face Australian qualifier Luke Saville or fifth seed Tomas Martin Etcheverry.

Earlier this year, Svrcina clinched an ATP Challenger Tour trophy on home soil.

In other action, South African Lloyd Harris downed Czech Jiri Vesely 6-4, 6-2 to improve to 13-4 against left-handers at tour-level hard-court events.

The 26-year-old produced an impressive serving perfomance, firing 19 aces and winning 93 per cent (26/28) of points behind his first delivery to advance after 71 minutes.

Harris will next play another lefty in the shape of Yoshihito Nishioka. The Japanese star defeated Frenchman Terence Atmane 0-6, 6-4, 6-2 to earn his eighth first-round win of the season.