KAOHSIUNG, September 19, 2018

Frenchman Gael Monfils had to pass a tough test in his first match on the ATP Challenger Tour since lifting the trophy in Bordeaux five years ago. The top seed of the $150,000 OEC Open in Kaohsiung battled past Australian qualifier Akira Santillan 5-7, 6-3, 6-4 in his first round match on Wednesday.

Monfils broke his opponent’s serve three times and won 52 per cent of the total points played to prevail after one hour and 41 minutes. The World No. 42 will next take on Go Soeda, who emerged victorious from an all-Japanese affair with Yuichi Sugita, winning 7-6(4), 7-6(4).

Earlier in the day, Austrian teenager Jurij Rodionov knocked out No. 8 seed Prajnesh Gunneswaran of India 6-3, 5-7, 6-3. The 19-year-old from Matzen capitalized on six of his 13 break point chances to seal victory in one hour and 45 minutes. Rodionov will challenge local wild card entry Chun Hsin Tseng in the second round.