Australian Open: Rune survives scare against Zhang

Dane Holger Rune, the No 13 seed, reached the second round of the Australian Open by defeating Chinese Zhizhen Zhang 4-6, 6-3, 6-4, 3-6, 6-4 at Melbourne Park on Tuesday.

The former world No 4 relied on his crisp ball hitting when it mattered most, hitting 62 winners over the course of the three-hour, 10-minute match and breaking Zhang in the final game.

“It was an incredibly tough match,” he said.

“It got very close at the end. I’m super happy I got through. First win of the season, it’s always a special feeling. Just super happy to be in the second round, hope I can keep it going.

“Very happy with how I fought today.”

Rune, ranked No 13, will face Italian Matteo Berrettini next.

Melbourne (Grand Slam), other first-round results (Melbourne Park, hard, USD 60.627.573, most recent results first):

• Andrey Rublev vs. Joao Fonseca
• Alexei Popyrin vs. Corentin Moutet
• Botic van de Zandschulp vs. Alex De Minaur
• Lorenzo Sonego vs. Stan Wawrinka
• Roberto Bautista Agut vs. Denis Shapovalov
• Pablo Carreno Busta vs. Kamil Majchrzak
• Tristan Boyer vs. Federico Coria
• Tomas Martin Etcheverry vs. Flavio Cobolli
• Marcos Giron vs. Yannick Hanfmann
• Ben Shelton vs. Brandon Nakashima
• Rinky Hijikata vs. Mitchell Krueger
• Matteo Arnaldi vs. Lorenzo Musetti
• Francisco Comesana vs. Daniel Altmaier
• Facundo Diaz Acosta vs. Zizou Bergs
• Kasidit Samrej vs. Daniil Medvedev
• Hubert Hurkacz vs. Tallon Griekspoor: tuesday
• Gael Monfils vs. Giovanni Mpetshi Perricard: tuesday
• Francisco Cerundolo vs. Alexander Bublik: tuesday
• Borna Coric vs. Cristian Garin: tuesday
• Camilo Ugo Carabelli vs. Learner Tien: tuesday
• Taylor Fritz (4) beat Jenson Brooksby: 6-2, 6-0, 6-3
• Karen Khachanov (19) beat Adrian Mannarino: 7-6 (5), 6-3, 6-3
• Gabriel Diallo vs. Luca Nardi: tuesday
• Matteo Berrettini beat Cameron Norrie: 6-7 (4), 6-4, 6-1, 6-3
• Miomir Kecmanovic beat Dusan Lajovic: 7-5, 3-6, 6-3, 3-6, 6-3
• Tommy Paul (12) beat Christopher O’Connell: 6-2, 3-6, 6-1, 6-7 (5), 7-5
• Francesco Passaro (LL) beat Grigor Dimitrov (10): 7-5, 2-1 ret.
• Benjamin Bonzi beat David Goffin: 6-1, 6-2, 7-6 (7)
• Jacob Fearnley beat Nick Kyrgios: 7-6 (3), 6-3, 7-6 (2)
• Novak Djokovic (7) beat Nishesh Basavareddy (WC): 4-6, 6-3, 6-4, 6-2
• Carlos Alcaraz (3) beat Alexander Shevchenko: 6-1, 7-5, 6-1
• Alejandro Davidovich Fokina beat Juncheng Shang: 7-6 (1), 5-2 ret.
• Felix Auger-Aliassime (29) beat Jan-Lennard Struff: 6-3, 6-0, 4-6, 6-1
• Jaime Faria (Q) beat Pavel Kotov: 6-1, 6-1, 7-5
• Sebastian Korda (22) beat Lukas Klein (Q): 6-3, 0-6, 6-3, 7-6 (6)
• Yoshihito Nishioka beat Aziz Dougaz (Q): 3-6, 6-4, 7-6 (3), 6-3
• Arthur Cazaux beat Sebastian Baez (28): 6-3, 5-7, 3-6, 6-0, 6-3
• Thanasi Kokkinakis beat Roman Safiullin: 3-6, 6-3, 6-3, 7-6 (5)
• Jack Draper (15) beat Mariano Navone: 4-6, 6-3, 3-6, 6-3, 6-2
• Aleksandar Vukic beat Damir Dzumhur: 6-7 (3), 6-0, 3-6, 6-3, 6-4
• Tristan Schoolkate (WC) beat Taro Daniel: 6-7 (6), 7-6 (4), 6-1, 6-4
• Jordan Thompson (27) beat Dominik Koepfer (Q): 7-6 (3), 6-4, 4-6, 6-3
• Jannik Sinner (1) beat Nicolas Jarry: 7-6 (2), 7-6 (5), 6-1
• James McCabe (WC) beat Martin Landaluce (Q): 6-4, 6-3, 6-4
• James Duckworth beat Dominic Stricker: 6-2, 6-4, 6-2
• Fabian Marozsan beat Thiago Seyboth Wild: 6-3, 6-7 (5), 7-5, 5-7, 7-5
• Nuno Borges beat Alexandre Muller: 6-7 (2), 6-3, 6-2, 7-5
• Roberto Carballes Baena beat Alejandro Tabilo (23): 1-6, 6-2, 6-3, 7-6 (1)
• Jakub Mensik beat Nikoloz Basilashvili (Q): 6-1, 6-7 (3), 6-3, 6-3
• Frances Tiafoe (17) beat Arthur Rinderknech: 7-6 (2), 6-3, 4-6, 6-7 (4), 6-3
• Alex Michelsen beat Stefanos Tsitsipas (11): 7-5, 6-3, 2-6, 6-4
• Alexander Zverev (2) beat Lucas Pouille (WC): 6-4, 6-4, 6-4
• Quentin Halys beat Adam Walton: 4-6, 4-6, 6-4, 7-6 (4), 7-5
• Reilly Opelka beat Gauthier Onclin (Q): 3-6, 7-6 (4), 6-3, 6-2
• Ugo Humbert (14) beat Matteo Gigante (Q): 7-6 (5), 7-5, 6-4
• Pedro Martinez Portero beat Luciano Darderi: 6-3, 4-1 ret.
• Tomas Machac (26) beat Sumit Nagal: 6-3, 6-1, 7-5
• Jiri Lehecka (24) beat Li Tu (WC): 6-1, 3-6, 6-3, 7-6 (1)
• Hady Habib (Q) beat Yunchaokete Bu: 7-6 (4), 6-4, 7-6 (6)
• Casper Ruud (6) beat Jaume Munar: 6-3, 1-6, 7-5, 2-6, 6-1
• Kei Nishikori beat Thiago Monteiro (Q): 4-6, 6-7 (4), 7-5, 6-2, 6-3
• Arthur Fils (20) beat Otto Virtanen: 3-6, 7-6 (4), 6-4, 6-4
• Hugo Gaston beat Omar Jasika (WC): 6-2, 3-6, 6-2, 6-2