Good start but then Zverev collapses

SECOND seed Alexander Zverev crashed out of the Swiss Indoors Basel after losing to Taylor Fritz in straight sets in the first round.

Zverev squandered a 4-0 lead in the first set tie-break as Fritz claimed a 7-6 6-4 victory in an hour and 25 minutes.

Third seed Stefanos Tsitsipas had to work hard to avoid a similar upset, the 21-year-old battling to a

6-3 7-6 victory against Albert Ramos-Vinolas.

Radu Albot recovered from losing the opening set to beat Dusan Lajovic 2-6 6-3 6-4 and secure a second-round clash against top seed and nine-time champion

Roger Federer.

Fifth-seeded Fabio Fognini enjoyed a 6-2 6-4 win over Alexei Popyrin, while Reilly Opelka came out on top in two tie-breaks in a serving duel against Cristian Garin.

Opelka saved two set points in the second tie-break, finishing the contest with 27 aces and winning 98% of points on his first serve.

DOMINIC Thiem started one of his favourite weeks of the season with a first win over Jo-Wilfried Tsonga, beating him 6-4

7-6 to reach the second round of the Erste Bank Open in Vienna.

Thiem will next face Fernando Verdasco, who beat Georgian Nikoloz Basilashvili 4-6 6-2 6-1, while Hyeon Chung overcame Milos Raonic 6-4 7-5.

Elsewhere, Gilles Simon knocked out 2004 champion Feliciano Lopez 6-4 6-3 to set up a clash against Aljaz Bedene, who struck 14 aces and won 28 of 29 first-service points in a 6-4 6-4 win over seventh seed Guido Pella.

TOP seed Kiki Bertens enjoyed a hard-fought win over eighth seed Donna Vekic in the Azalea Group at the Hengqin Life WTA Elite Trophy in Zhuhai.

Bertens edged a tie-break to decide an opening set which lasted for 80 minutes and raced into a 5-0 lead in the second before taking it 6-2 to complete victory in a minute shy of two hours.

“The first set was really tight, so it was just a few points here and there,” Bertens said. “I just was trying to push myself all the time. It was tough, mentally but also physically.”