Chardy Upsets Basilashvili In Istanbul

France’s Jeremy Chardy began his first appearance at the TEB BNP Paribas Istanbul Open in style, defeating eighth seed Nikoloz Basilashvili 7-5, 6-3 in 89 minutes on Tuesday.

“I am happy with my match today,” said Chardy. “I knew it would be a difficult match. [Basilashvili] is a really good player, really aggressive. I am happy with my level today, I played really solid from the beginning to the end.”

The Istanbul debutant converted five of his seven break point opportunities en route to victory against the World No. 75, who remains winless at the event after three appearances. Chardy will next face Serbia’s Dusan Lajovic, who dropped just four games in a 6-4, 6-0 win over Gazprom Hungarian Open finalist John Millman.

“Lajovic’s favourite surface is clay,” said Chardy. “It will be a difficult match. If I continue to play like I played today, I will have a good chance to continue in the tournament.”

Last year’s Istanbul doubles champion Jiri Vesely (w/Jebavy) booked his place in the second round in 64 minutes, beating 2015 quarter-finalist Daniel Gimeno-Traver 6-3, 6-1. Vesely won 95 per cent of second serve return points (18/19) and hit eight aces in the first-round meeting. Vesely will face qualifier Thiago Monteiro for a spot in the quarter-finals. The Brazilian defeated Gerald Melzer of Austria 6-2, 3-6, 6-1 in one hour and 42 minutes.

Italy’s Thomas Fabbiano dropped just two games to beat Russia’s Mikhail Youzhny 6-1, 6-1. The World No. 100 will next face second seed Damir Dzumhur. Rogerio Dutra Silva also booked a second-round clash with a seeded opponent, defeating Radu Albot 6-4, 6-4 to set a first career meeting with sixth seed Viktor Troicki.

Did You Know?
In the three previous editions of the TEB BNP Paribas Istanbul Open, five of the six finalists have held a Top 3 seeding. The only exception is 2016 champion Diego Schwartzman, who beat No. 2 seed Grigor Dimitrov to win the tournament unseeded.