Auger-Aliassime suffers 1st-round loss to wild card Nishioka at Japan Open
Top-seeded Fritz falls to Fils, while Sinner survives scare vs. Jarry in Beijing
Canada's Felix Auger-Aliassime is out of the Japan Open in the first round.
Auger-Aliassime fell 7-6 (5), 3-6, 7-6 (5) to Japan's Yoshihito Nishioka in a three-hour 12-minute match at Ariake Tennis Park on Thursday.
Auger-Aliassime hit 12 aces to four for Nishioka and also had the edge in total points won (119-117) despite the defeat.
The 24-year-old from Montreal entered the tournament ranked 21st in the world in men's singles. Nishioka, a wild-card entry at the ATP 500 event, was 59th.
Auger-Aliassime had previously defeated Nishioka in four of six meetings.
Nishioka will face the winner of a matchup between No. 6 seed Holger Rune of Denmark and Chile's Alejandro Tabilo, who was born in Toronto.
WATCH | Auger-Aliassime falls to wildcard Nishioka:
Fils racks up 32 winners against Fritz
Top-seeded Taylor Fritz was upset by No. 24-ranked Arthur Fils of France 6-4, 3-6, 6-3 in Tokyo.
Fils peeled off 32 winners in a power-hitting display against Fritz, who made his first Grand Slam singles final at the U.S. Open this month. Fils has former top-10 player Matteo Berrettini in the second round.
Defending champion Ben Shelton shook off a rusty first set to beat countryman Reilly Opelka 3-6, 6-1, 6-4. Shelton, along with Fritz, came from the Laver Cup in Berlin where they represented Team World in a loss to Alcaraz's Team Europe.
No. 12-ranked Stefanos Tsitsipas, who was at the Laver Cup for Team Europe, lost to Alex Michelsen of the U.S. 4-6, 6-1, 6-2.
Brandon Nakashima won another all-American tie against U.S. Open semifinalist Frances Tiafoe 7-5, 6-3. Nakashima, ranked 36th, fired 12 aces.
Fifth-seeded Tommy Paul rolled to a 6-3, 6-2 win over Italy's Matteo Arnaldi. Other winners included U.S. Open semifinalist Jack Draper and Tomas Machac.
Jarry pushes No. 1 Sinner
Top-ranked Jannik Sinner overcame a scare from Nicolas Jarry to begin defence of the China Open title with a 4-6, 6-3, 6-1 first-round victory in Beijing.
The Italian extended his win streak to 12 after titles at Cincinnati and the U.S. Open, his second Grand Slam title this year. Sinner's record over the past 52 weeks stands at 76-6.
Jarry won their only previous match on grass in 2019 at 's-Hertogenbosch, Netherlands and the Chilean overpowered Sinner in the first set in Beijing with 11 winners.
"In the first set I was struggling to return his serve and he broke me," Sinner said. "I just tried to stay there mentally. The first round at any tournament is never easy and playing against him is very tough. But I am happy about the performance and how I ended the match."
Sinner raised his game to level the sets and broke Jarry twice in a dominant third set. He next faces wild card Stan Wawrinka or lucky loser Roman Safiullin.
Adrian Mannarino also rallied from a set down to beat Lorenzo Sonego 1-6, 6-2, 6-3 for his 300th win on tour, 16 years after his first.
No. 3-ranked Carlos Alcaraz, seeded second in Beijing, begins against No. 51 Giovanni Mpetshi Perricard of France on Friday.
With files from The Associated Press
