Anderson prevails in Newport opener, Johnson upset

Being one of the few grass-court tournaments to occur after Wimbledon, the Hall of Fame Open kicked off with a bang on Monday as former World No.5 Kevin Anderson took to the courts in Newport, USA.

The eighth-seeded South African faced Ukrainian Illya Marchenko in his opening round match, prevailing 7-5 6-3 after an hour and 32 minutes. Anderson maintained his perfect record against the World No.156, improving to 4-0 in their ATP head-to-head meetings.

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Furthermore, Anderson fired 16 aces, saving all five break points faced. Currently ranked at World No.113, the former Top 10 star has been plagued with injuries and is a hoping to climb the rankings with a good showing at Newport.

In a clash of American veterans, sixth seed Steve Johnson fell to compatriot Denis Kudla after a two hour battle. The unseeded Kudla saved all four break points faced, emerging with a 7-6(3) 3-6 6-4 victory. He will face compatriot Jenson Brooksby, who defeated Evgeny Donskoy 7-5 6-3 earlier in the day.

In other first round action, Japanese journeyman Yuichi Sugita pulled off a 7-5 6-3 victory over Jurij Rodionov. Seventh seed Jordan Thompson advanced to the next round, after German Cedrik-Marcel Stebe was forced to retire due to injury while trailing 4-5 in the first set.