Steve Johnson of the US on Monday beat fourth-seeded Richard Gasquet 7-6 (7/2), 6-2 on a rain-hit opening day of the Wimbledon warm-up Queen’s Club Championships in London.
In a match that was delayed and then interrupted several times by rain, Gasquet held a set point, but failed to serve out the opening set at 5-4.
After being overwhelmed in the tiebreaker, the 10th-ranked Frenchman surrendered an early break in the second set and failed to recover.
All the other main draw matches were postponed.
The tournament features four of the world’s top 10 players as they prepare for Wimbledon, which begins on June 27.
Andy Murray has been reunited with coach Ivan Lendl and heads the 32-player field as he bids for a record fifth Queen’s title.
Stan Wawrinka, who is being assisted by former Wimbledon champion Richard Krajicek, is seeded second, and Milos Raonic is seeded third as he works with seven-time major champion John McEnroe.
Krajicek was surprised to receive a call from Wawrinka’s principal coach, Magnus Norman, but jumped at the chance.
“I’d like to add [to Wawrinka’s game],” Krajicek said. “Sometimes it can be a bit of extra confidence. I think it can be a combination of things. It can be sometimes a little bit technically, also. So it’s different things you bring to the table.”
GERRY WEBER OPEN
AP, HALLE, Germany
Second-seeded Kei Nishikori of Japan on Monday overcame a shaky start to beat Lucas Pouille of France 6-7 (5/7), 6-1, 6-4 in the first round of the Gerry Weber Open.
Nishikori fell behind 3-0 at the start of the match, but battled back to force a tiebreaker. He was unable to win the last two points on his serve and Pouille got the set.
Nishikori raced through the second, but requested medical treatment for what appeared to be a sore left shoulder. He broke serve in the seventh game and served out the match.
Pouille had 34 unforced errors, 12 more than Nishikori, a semi-finalist in Halle the past two years. Pouille has never won on grass in four attempts.
The match was played under the roof because of rain and the roof stayed closed for the rest of the day.
Last year’s runner-up, Andreas Seppi, beat sixth-seeded David Ferrer 6-3, 6-4.
Fifth-seeded David Goffin needed 2 hours, 47 minutes to overcome Borna Coric 7-6 (7/5), 6-7 (3/7), 6-4.
Qualifier Sergiy Stakhovsky overcame Denis Kudla 7-5, 4-6, 6-3 and Benjamin Becker beat Ernests Gulbis 7-5, 6-3 in a match between two qualifiers.
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