In short:
Alexei Popyrin lost in the first round of the Cincinnati Open, going down to Gaël Monfils in straight sets.
Fellow Australian Max Purcell defeated Tomáš Macháč 6-4, 7-6 (7/1).
What’s next?
Jordan Thompson plays Sebastian Baez in the round of 32.
Alexei Popyrin has lost in the first round of the Cincinnati Open only two days after he captured his first Masters 1000 title in Montreal.
Popyrin was defeated in straight sets in the round of 64 by French veteran Gaël Monfils, who triumphed 7-5, 6-3 in Cincinnati, which is also a Masters 1000 tournament on the ATP Tour.
But Popyrin’s fellow Australian Max Purcell had better luck, defeating Czech Tomáš Macháč 6-4, 7-6 (7/1).
Popyrin was playing on the back of his breakthrough victory in Montreal on Tuesday, Australian time.
His defeat of world number six Andrey Rublev in the final made him the first Australian winner of a Masters 1000 event since Lleyton Hewitt in 2003.
Popyrin’s victory saw the 25-year-old move to a career-high ranking of 23, meaning he will be seeded at the US Open, which begins later this month.
World number one Jannik Sinner won his round-of-32 match against American qualifier Alex Michelsen 6-4, 7-5.
Italy’s Sinner was given a bye in the opening round.
Unseeded Australian Jordan Thompson advanced to the round of 32 on Wednesday, Australian time.
Thompson defeated French 13th seed Ugo Humbert 3-6, 6-3, 7-6 (7/4).
He faces Argentine Sebastian Baez for a berth in the round of 16.
In the Cincinnati Open women’s draw, Russian 10th seed Liudmila Samsonova progressed from the first round by defeating China’s Wang Xinyu 6-4, 6-4.
Samsonova’s fellow Russian, outstanding 17-year-old Mirra Andreeva, also won through to the next round by beating American 11th seed Emma Navarro 6-2, 6-2.
