Roma-Sana
Felix Auger Al-Yassim and Karen Khachanov were knocked out early in the first round of the Italian Open tennis tournament in Rome after players switched from hard-court to sandy tournaments in Europe.
Oger Al-Yassim lost to Dominic Thiem in the fourth round of the US Open last week, losing 6-4 7-5 MAM of Serbia Filip Krajnovic, while the 11th seed Khachanov lost 6-3 3-6 6-1 to Norway's Kasper Rudd.
French Benoit Bear, who was infected with the Coronavirus and withdrew from the American Open, bid farewell to the Italian Championship in the first round match, with a 6-2, 6-1 defeat by Yannick Sener.
Grigor Dimitrov beat Gianluca Majer 7-5 6-1 to qualify for the second round, while Marin Cilic narrowly beat Alexander Public 6-7 6-2 6-4 to book his place in the next round where he faces sixth seed David Goffin.
In the women's draw, Belgian Elise Mertens, 11th seed, went up to the second round with a 6-3 6-1 victory over Hsieh Suwe Wei, while 21-seed Elena Rybakina beat Ekaterina Alexandrova 6 0 6-4 in 61 minutes.
Ukrainian Diana Yastermeska beat Italian Camila Gyorgi 7-5, 6-7, 6-4.
Donna Vekic, 16, was eliminated from the tournament at the hands of Amanda Anisimova, after she lost in two games, to end the match in favor of the American player 7-6 7-6.
The draw exempted prominent players such as Novak Djokovic, Rafael Nadal and Stephanos Tsitsipas in the men's competitions, Simona Halep, Karolina Pliskova and Sofia Kenin in the women's competitions from entering the first round.