Swiss qualifier Marc-Andrea Huesler cruised to victory on Monday, upsetting 11th seed Jannik Sinner of Italy 6-2, 6-3 in the first round of the Rolex Paris Masters in France.
It was a dominant performance for Huesler, who hit 20 winners against just three unforced errors. He also hit six aces compared to Sinner’s two.
Sinner took 1-0 and 2-1 leads in the second set, but those were the only instances where he maintained an edge throughout the match.
“I had two good matches in qualifying, I came out here and had nothing to lose today. It helped me play very aggressively,” Huesler said. “It wasn’t his best game, for sure, but I had to be ready to take it (the opportunity). I just hung in there, and I’m really happy with the win.”
Huesler will have a second-round meeting with Russian Karen Khachanov, who beat Argentine Sebastian Baez 6-1, 6-1 on Monday.
“Karen is a great server, for sure,” Huesler said. “I played him once before in the Davis Cup, lost in two sets there. Honestly, all the guys here are hard to beat. I’m proud to play these guys. I’m here to do my best and I have a lot confidence in my game.”
Lorenzo Musetti of Italy also pulled off an upset, taking down 15th-seeded Croatian Marin Cilic 6-4, 6-4.
Ninth-seeded American Taylor Fritz defeated Alejandro Davidovich Fokina of Spain 7-5, 6-2, British No. 12 seed Cameron Norrie trounced Serbia’s Miomir Kecmanovic 6-2, 6-4 and 16th-seeded American Frances Tiafoe ousted qualifier to Lorenzo Sonego Italy 6-4, 6-4 to avoid being toppled by the underdogs.
Americans in action Monday went 4-for-5, as Maxime Cressy and John Isner won along with Fritz and Tiafoe. Sebastian Korda fell 6-4, 4-6, 6-4 to Australia’s Alex de Minaur in the final match of the day.
Other winners were Georgia’s Nikoloz Basilashvili, French wildcards Richard Gasquet and Gilles Simon, Yoshihito Nishioka of Japan and Swedish qualifier Mikael Ymer.
–Field Level Media