Pospisil eliminated in 1st round of Halle Open after 3-month absence
Loses to 75th-ranked Marcus Giron of U.S.; Auger-Aliassime begins play Tuesday
Canada's Vasek Pospisil is out of the Halle Open after losing his first-round match on Monday in Germany.
Playing his first match since March, the 66th-ranked Pospisil lost 7-6 (4), 7-6 (6) to world No. 75 Marcus Giron of the U.S. at the ATP Tour 500 grass-court event.
Neither player recorded a break.
Giron won 89 per cent of points when he got his first serve in, while Pospisil, from Vancouver, was at 84 per cent.
WATCH | Pospisil's return to court short-lived in Germany:
Auger-Aliassime will face Poland's Hubert Hurkacz in the first round after losing in the final at a tournament in Stuttgart, Germany on Sunday.
Victorious Federer chases 11th title in Halle
Roger Federer made a winning return to the grass courts with a hard-fought 7-6(4) 7-5 victory over qualifier Ilya Ivashka at Halle on Monday.
The Swiss has not played a competitive match on grass since his Wimbledon final defeat by Novak Djokovic almost two years ago, but was quickly back in the routine.
Ivashka saved a match point at 4-5 in the second set but Federer earned three more at 5-6 and got the job done as his opponent netted a forehand.
Federer, who has played only three tournaments this year as he returns from knee surgery, withdrew from the French Open last week having reached the fourth round, stating that he wanted to prepare for Wimbledon.
He is bidding for an 11th title in Halle.
Tsitsipas withdraws after grandma's death
French Open runner-up Stefanos Tsitsipas said Monday his grandmother died just before he played the final at Roland Garros against Novak Djokovic.
Tsitsipas posted on social media that his "very beloved grandmother lost her battle with life" five minutes before he entered the court Sunday for his first Grand Slam title match.
He thanked her for raising his father and called her a "wise woman whose faith in life, and willingness to give and provide can't be compared to any other human being that I have ever met."
The 22-year-old from Greece lost to Djokovic 6-7 (6), 2-6, 6-3, 6-2, 6-4.
Tsitsipas had been scheduled to play singles and doubles at a grass-court event in Halle, Germany, this week, but the tournament announced Monday he had withdrawn because of "personal reasons."
WATCH | Pospisil smashes racket in March at Miami Open:
With files from Reuters & The Associated Press
