No. 5 seed Joao Sousa debuted at the Open de Nice Cote d’Azur with a comeback win on Monday against #NextGen player Quentin Halys of France. The Portuguese, playing at a career-high No. 28 in the Emirates ATP Rankings, won 5-7, 6-4, 6-4 in two hours and 21 minutes against the 19 year old.
Two qualifiers join Sousa, Zverev in second round of Nice Open
Eighth-seeded Alexander Zverev of Germany advanced when Kyle Edmund of Britain quit after the two split the first two sets. Edmund fell while leading 4-3 in the second and appeared in pain. He finished the set, losing it 7-5, but decided not to play the third.
Another qualifier advanced when Diego Schwartzman of Argentina defeated Fernando Verdasco of Spain 7-6 (5), 6-1.
Zverev, who had lost to Granollers in three sets at the Monte-Carlo Rolex Masters, prevailed 7-5, 6-7(3), 6-2 in two hours and 41 minutes. In the third set, the 19-year-old German didn't face a break point and broke the 30 year old twice to get the win. “He's one of the best clay-court players... and he's been playing well,” Zverev said. “He has a lot of shots. He can do variety as well, so it was good for me to win that match.”
Alexander Zverev was unable to stop Dominic Thiem claiming back-to-back Open de Nice Cote d'Azur titles.
Dominic Thiem successfully defended his Open de Nice Cote d'Azur title with a hard-fought three-set victory over up-and-comer Alexander Zverev in Saturday's final.
Top seed Thiem recovered from a slow start to record a 6-4 3-6 6-0 victory and earn a third ATP World Tour title of the season.