THE Round of 32 was complete at both the ATP 250 tournaments in Cologne, Germany and Antwerp, Belgium, with a mostly predictable day – bar one huge scalp at Antwerp – seeing just one seed across the two competitions take the court.

At Cologne, just the four matches played out with young gun Jannik Sinner downing lucky loser James Duckworth, while Duckworth’s compatriot John Millman overcame a shaky start to reign supreme over Fernando Verdasco. Sinner impressed in his 61-minute demolition of his Australian opponent, winning 78 per cent of points off his first serve for the 6-1 6-2 victory. It was not just his own serve though with the Italian teen converting five of seven break points and winning 59 per cent of points on the return. For Millman, the 6-4 6-2 victory came through weathering Verdasco’s serve and forcing errors from the Spaniard who hit eight double faults for three aces at 60 per cent efficiency. Millman won a whopping 84 per cent of points off Verdasco’s second serve, benefiting off the Spaniard’s inconsistent serve.

While Alejandro Davidovich Fokina had no issue disposing of Bosnia-Herzegovina’s Damir Dzumhur, French qualifier Pierre-Hugues Herbert had to overcome a second set comeback from American Tennys Sandgren to proceed through to the Round of 16. The Davidovich Fokina-Dzumhur battle was intriguing, with the Spanish victor far more consistent and that consistency ultimately getting him over the line. Dzumhur contested well on the first serve but struggled capitalising off his second, also failing to win critical points off the return in the 6-2 6-3 battle. For Hubert it was a tougher battle, forced to fight back from a second set slip in the 6-3 3-6 6-3, two hour and 16 minute match. The closeness of the contest was evident with neither player willing to give an inch, though it was the Frenchman who outlasted the hard-hitting Sandgren – who hit 10 aces for six double faults – and marginally beat the American on both his service and return games, winning just five more points overall.

COLOGNE ROUND OF 32 RESULTS:

John Millman (AUS) defeated Fernando Verdasco (ESP) 6-4 6-2
Alejandro Davidovich Fokina (ESP) defeated [Q] Damir Dzumhur (BIH) 6-2 6-3
[Q] Pierre-Hugues Herbert (FRA) defeated Tennys Sandgren (USA) 6-3 3-6 6-3
Jannik Sinner (ITA) defeated [LL] James Duckworth (AUS) 6-1 6-2

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At Antwerp, Australian Alex de Minaur was the only seed to take the court, and was forced to fight every second for victory by Frenchman Richard Gasquet who stormed out of the blocks in the first set. De Minaur showcased his ability to come back from the brink though with an impressive second set to draw even and turn the tides in the 3-6 7-6 6-3, two hour and 18 minute win. Marginally better off his service and return games than Gasquet, de Minaur won 52 per cent of overall points, showcasing the closeness of the battle. Meanwhile, wildcard Belgian Zizou Bergs snatched a huge victory over Spaniard Albert Ramos-Vinolas in his first tour-level match. Home hope Bergs, currently ranked at 528th in the world compared to Ramos-Vinolas’ 45th, won with the exciting 7-5 7-5 match coming down to the wire. Like de Minaur, Bergs won 52 per cent of overall points (75-68) and used his seven aces to command points off his own serve.

Joining de Minaur on the winners list are a couple of consistent performers across the past few weeks, with Lloyd Harris and Pablo Andujar both overcoming their respective opposition, while a couple of Brits join them with both Daniel Evans and Cameron Norrie defeating respective qualfiers in Salvatore Caruso and Emil Ruusuvuori. Harris overcame a tough first set effort from Corentin Moutet to head to the second round, hitting seven aces on his way to a 7-5 6-2 victory, and winning points off 85 per cent of his first serve points. Meanwhile, Andujar defeated lucky loser, Federico Coria.

ANTWERP ROUND OF 32 RESULTS:

[W] Zizou Bergs (BEL) defeated Albert Ramos-Vinolas (ESP) 7-5 7-5
[8] Alex de Minaur (AUS) defeated Richard Gasquet (FRA) 3-6 7-6 6-3
Pablo Andujar (ESP) defeated [LL] Federico Coria (ARG) 6-2 6-3
Daniel Evans (GBR) defeated [Q] Salvatore Caruso (ITA) 6-2 3-6 6-3
[Q] Marcos Giron (USA) defeated [WC] Luca Nardi (ITA) 4-6 6-4 6-1
[Q] Lloyd Harris (RSA) defeated Corentin Moutet (FRA) 7-5 6-2
Cameron Norrie (GBR) defeated [Q] Emil Ruusuvuori (FIN) 6-3 7-6