Malek Jaziri will face seventh seed Andreas Seppi in the second round of the Aegon Open Nottingham after outlasting British wild card James Ward 6-1, 3-6, 6-4 on Monday. Jaziri, No. 60 in the Emirates ATP Rankings, won 62 per cent of his service points and converted five of his 10 break points against the 29-year-old Ward, No. 177 in the Emirates ATP Rankings. Jaziri, 32, lost to Seppi in their prior FedEx ATP Head2Head meeting (Moscow 2012).

German Benjamin Becker also prevailed in three sets, beating Aussie Jordan Thompson 6-2, 2-6, 6-4. Becker next will face 13^th seed Guido Pella of Argentina for the first time.

Britain’s Kyle Edmund, a member of the Next Generation, swept Czech Lukas Rosol 6-4, 6-3. Edmund, a career-high No. 68 in the Emirates ATP Rankings, made his second ATP World Tour quarter-final of the season last week at The Queen’s Club in London, where he lost to eventual champion Andy Murray in three sets.

“He’s a very dangerous player. You don’t know what to expect of him,” Edmund said of Rosol, who beat Rafael Nadal at Wimbledon in 2012. “Coming off a good week last week, it was important that I didn’t relax, I still stay focused, still look to improve. I felt I did that well.”

Victor Estrella Burgos of the Dominican Republic moved into the second round with a 7-6(7), 6-7(4), 6-2 win against American Rajeev Ram. Estrella Burgos next will face Fernando Verdasco, who won their prior FedEx ATP Head2Head meeting (Cincinnati 2008).

Rain caused havoc on Day 1 of qualifying on Monday at Wimbledon, washing out play entirely on nine of 16 courts. Only 16 first-round matches were completed, with #NextGen star Quentin Halys of France among the winners.

Halys made his Wimbledon debut a memorable one won by defeating Hans Podlipnik-Castillo of Chile, 6-0, 6-1. The 19-year-old has cut his ranking in half since last June, currently sitting at a career-high Emirates ATP Ranking of No. 142. Next up for him is Zhe Li of China, who defeated Dmitry Popko of Kazakhstan.

The upset of the day went to British wildcard Daniel Cox, who scored a convincing win over No. 16 seed Thiemo de Bakker of the Netherlands, 6-1, 6-2. Injuries have limited the World No. 554 in the Emirates ATP Rankings to just six tournaments since last September. Cox will now play Dennis Novak of Austria, who defeated Ze Zhang of China in his first-round match.

Other winners on Day 1 include former Roland Garros doubles champion Edouard Roger-Vasselin of France, No. 28 seed Dennis Novikov of the United States and Julian Reister of Germany.

All remaining first-round qualifying singles matches will be completed on Tuesday. Among those on the schedule include a slew of #NextGen stars, including top seed Karen Khachanov of Russia, American Frances Tiafoe and Andrey Rublev of Russia.

Before competing on the slow red clay of the ATP Challenger Tour event in Milan, Italy, two Italian stars had a fun hit on a much different surface.

Marco Cecchinato and 2013 champion Filippo Volandri hit a few balls on the boathouse on the Naviglio river, located in the Darsena district in Milan. The oldest canal along the river began being built in the 12^th century, while the port Darsena was built in 1603 as a trade hub. There’s also a weekly market held in Darsena on Saturdays, which has become a popular tourist attraction in Milan.

Both Volandri and Cecchinato play their first-round matches in Milan on Tuesday. Cecchinato, the No. 5 seed, plays Juan Ignacio Londero of Argentina, while Volandri takes on qualifier and fellow Italian Lorenzo Sonego.

This past weekend’s exhibition match at the ATP Challenger Tour event in Poprad Tatry, Slovakia, featured a unique twist as four-legged “balldogs” took to the court to fetch balls.

Former World No. 4 and Olympic gold medalist Miloslav Mecir and former World No. 34 Marian Vajda were joined on Saturday by three dogs who collected balls during the match. Ruby, Layla and Luky are from a local animal shelter and were brought out to highlight the importance of adopting.

“[They] are the first three official tennis ball collectors in Slovakia,” said local civil activist Monika Kozelova. “They demonstrated how clever, skilled and useful the dogs from an animal shelter can be.”

Mecir was also impressed by the balldogs, declaring that “they are such beautiful dogs, really well-trained. It would be such a pity if they didn’t find their home.”

Horacio Zeballos of Argentina won this year in Poprad Tatry without dropping a set, defeating Gerald Melzer of Austria in the final. 

Mecir said he was pleased with the tournament and believes it keeps improving each year. “We had stronger players than last year. We had a Top 50 player in Martin Klizan and some other top players in the Top 100. You could see most of the Slovak Davis Cup team in the singles semi-finals and doubles final,” he said. “After 14 years, we hope a Slovak player can win the singles title here. We haven’t managed it so far, but you can always see top tennis here.”