Milos Raonic, 2014 Paris Masters finalist, breezes to 1st-round win in 63 minutes
Canadian standout fires 18 aces in improving to 5-0 against Slovenia's Aljaz Bedene
Big-serving Canadian Milos Raonic beat Aljaz Bedene of Slovenia 6-3, 6-2 Tuesday in first-round action at the Paris Masters.
Raonic, the 10th seed in Paris, never faced break point and needed just one hour and three minutes to improve to 5-0 against Bedene.
The 29-year-old from Thornhill, Ont., fired 18 aces to four for his Slovenian opponent. Raonic was accurate on just 49 per cent of his first serves, but it didn't affect him much as he won 86 per cent of his second serve points. When he did get his first serve in, he won 86 per cent of those points as well.
Raonic made the most of his opportunities to take control of the match, breaking Bedene three times on five chances.
WATCH | Milos Raonic never faces break point en route to victory:
Raonic, a finalist at the Masters 1000 event in 2014, next faces French wild-card Pierre-Hughes Hebert, who defeated American Tennys Sandgren 2-6, 6-4, 7-6 (4). Raonic won the only other meeting between the players at the 2019 Australian Open.
Tsitsipas upset by Humbert
Greek second seed Stefanos Tsitsipas was knocked out of the Paris Masters in the second round when he was beaten 7-6(4) 6-7(6) 7-6(3) by Frenchman Ugo Humbert on Tuesday.
Tsitsipas saved three match points in the second set's tiebreak and another one in the last set before bowing out at an empty Bercy arena despite serving 19 aces.
Tsitsipas was trailing 6-3 in the second tiebreak but raised his game and benefited from his opponent's nerves to bag five points in a row and force a decider. But the 22-year-old Humbert kept his composure in the third set's tiebreak to set up a meeting with Marin Cilic.
WATCH | Humbert hangs on to eliminate Tsitsipas:
The Croatian advanced without playing after his opponent, France's Corentin Moutet, was withdrawn from the tournament after testing positive for coronavirus, the ATP said.
Wawrinka to face Simon or Paul in Round 2
In other matches, three-time Grand Slam champion Stan Wawrinka defeated Daniel Evans 6-3, 7-6 (3).
The 12th-seeded Wawrinka, a former No. 3, hit 35 winners to extend his record to 5-0 against his British rival.
Wawrinka dropped only seven points on his first serve and saved the two break points he faced in the third game of the opening set. He will next face either Gilles Simon or Tommy Paul.
Also, Richard Gasquet defeated Taylor Fritz 6-0, 3-6, 6-3 to progress to the second round.
The event is the final Masters tournament of the season. It is being held without fans because of lockdown measures implemented in France to slow the spread of the coronavirus.
WATCH | Felix Auger-Aliassime sent packing in 1st round:
With files from The Associated Press and Reuters
