Daniel Altmaier defeated birthday-boy Sam Querrey on Stadium 1 to reach the second round of the BNP Paribas Open Thursday, advancing 6-2, 6-4 in 62 minutes.
Altmaier out-aced 34-year-old Querrey, who has served the fifth-most aces of all time, by seven to two. The American’s serve was not at its usual potency, as he also served eight double faults and only made 42 per cent of first serves.
Altmaier’s victory was build around his dominance on the shorter points. The German had a decisive 46-26 edge in points of 0-4 shots per Infosys ATP Stats Rally Analysis.
Querrey, a 10-time ATP Tour champion and former World No. 11, is now 0-7 in his past seven matches.
The 23-year-old German went on back-to-back semi-final runs earlier this year in Umag and Kitzbuehel, also reaching the round of 16 at Roland Garros in 2020 as a qualifier.
Up next for Altmaier is former World No. 3 Grigor Dimitrov, a semi-finalist in San Diego last week.
Another opening-day winner was Alexei Popyrin, who beat Miomir Kecmanovic 6-3, 7-6(4) to set up a second-round clash with Hubert Hurkacz.
The victory is Popyrin’s first over Kecmanovic, with the 22-year-old Serb winning their first two encounters in straight sets.
Popyrin, who won his first ATP Tour title earlier this year in Singapore, is recapturing his form towards the end of the season. The Australian has now won six of his past eight matches.
Kecmanovic’s YTD record now stands at 14-23, and he is 1-7 in ATP Masters 1000 events in 2021. The current World No. 62 won his lone ATP Tour title last season in Kitzbuehel.
Tommy Paul overcame record-breaking Feliciano Lopez, winning 6-3, 7-6(3) against the 40-year-old Spaniard to level their ATP Head2Head at 1-1.
Paul, who was on a three-match losing run heading into the match, utilised his dominant first serve and returning prowess to pull through in straight sets. The American won 81 per cent (26/32) of his first-serve points, and also managed to break the lefty’s serve on three occasions.
By taking the court today Lopez broke the ATP Masters appearance record, playing in his 139th event, passing Roger Federer. Lopez also holds the record for the most consecutive Grand Slam appearances with 78.
Carlos Taberner won an all-Spanish affair against Jaume Munar 6-3, 6-3, while Japan’s Taro Daniel defeated German Philipp Kohlschreiber 6-2, 6-4. Taberner will next face fourth-seeded Russian Andrey Rublev in the second round, while Daniel will take on American Reilly Opelka, the 16th seed.
Tommy Paul defeated Feliciano Lopez 6-3, 7-6(3) on the Spaniard’s record-braking day to end his three-match losing run heading into the event.
Paul utilised his dominant first serve and returning prowess to pull through in straight sets. The American won 81 per cent (26/32) of first-serve points, and also managed to break the lefty’s serve on three occasions.
By taking the court today Lopez broke the ATP Masters appearance record, playing in his 139th event, passing fellow 40-year-old Roger Federer. Lopez also holds the record for the most consecutive Grand Slam appearances with 78.
Tennys Sandgren was another American to advance Thursday, but he needed nine match points to see off Thiago Monteiro 6-4, 6-3.