TORONTO - Seeded players were in strong form in early play Tuesday at the National Bank Open men's tennis tournament.Â
Third-seeded Lorenzo Musetti of Italy beat Australian qualifier James Duckworth 7-5, 6-1 and Denmark's Holger Rune posted a 7-6 (7), 6-3 win over Giovanni Mpetshi Perricard of France on a hot, sunny afternoon at Sobeys Stadium.Â
"Very tricky first match for me because he's a big server and (there wasn't) a lot of rhythm in the match," Rune said. "I had to really take care of my own serve and then just look for the opportunities that I had."
Wild-card entry Nicolas Arseneault of Richmond Hill, Ont., dropped a 7-6 (7), 6-3 decision to defending champion and No. 18 seed Alexei Popyrin of Australia.
Russia's Karen Khachanov, the No. 11 seed, topped qualifier Juan Pablo Ficovich of Argentina 6-4, 6-2 and 26th-seeded American Alex Michelsen downed Chilean qualifier Tomas Barrios Vera 7-6 (7), 6-3.Â
Alexandre Muller of France, the No. 29 seed, outlasted Serbia's Miomir Kecmanovic 2-6, 6-3, 7-5.Â
In the evening session, 22nd-seeded Denis Shapovalov of Richmond Hill, Ont., was scheduled to play American Learner Tien on centre court.Â
Top-seeded Alex Zverev of Germany was to meet Australia's Adam Walton in the late match.
Play at the Masters 1000 tournament continues through Aug. 7.Â
This report by °µÍø½ûÇø was first published July 29, 2025.
