Surprising Brouwer reaches second round

Gijs Brouwer had already won two three-setters in the qualification for Libéma Open and those extra hours on the grass did not hurt him. In the first round on Tuesday, Brouwer won over world number 79 Jakub Mensik: 6-1 3-6 6-3.

After a flashy start to the match against the 18-year-old Czech talent, the game seemed to tip the wrong way for Brouwer. He lost the second set and immediately found himself a break behind in the third. But the North Hollander immediately made a rebreak and then pulled that momentum through to victory.

This gave Brouwer his first victory in the main tournament of Libéma Open, after making his tournament debut last year. In the second round, the 2019 tournament winner Adrian Mannarino awaits as opponent.

Botic van de Zandschulp could not make it to the second round. The Dutch number two lost against Mackenzie McDonald in three sets: 6-4 4-6 6-2.