A commanding finish from Aleksandar Vukic delivered the Australian with a second-round showing at the Italian Open.
The world No.99 downed American qualifier Patrick Kypson 6-3 5-7 6-0 in two hours on Thursday to continue his Rome campaign.
It was a fast start from the 30-year-old, who won five of the first six games, ultimately claiming the first set 6-3. Serving for the match at 5-4 in the second set, Vukic was broken in his next two service games as Kypson sent the match into a decider.
But the final set was one-way traffic. Vukic completed a perfect third set in just 23 minutes, not dropping a point on serve as he rattled off 17 consecutive points to close out the match.
This marks Vukic’s third-straight trip to the round of 64 in Rome, with his next match against 16th seed Tommy Paul presenting a chance to reach the third round for the first time. An Adelaide International quarterfinal rematch, Vukic will hope to flip the script on the American after losing in straight sets in their most recent battle.
> READ: Vukic stuns Tsitsipas in Adelaide
He is one of four Australians through to the second round of Italian claycourt tournament with Alex de Minaur and Maya Joint granted a first-round bye as seeds. Talia Gibson progressed after claiming a maiden WTA-level win on clay in the opening round.
> ROME: Gibson records first WTA claycourt victory
Alexei Popyrin and Ajla Tomljanovic will aim to join the quartet in the final 64 on Day 4. Popyrin will open play on Campo Centrale against local Matteo Berrettini, while Tomljanovic resumes her first-round match against Noemi Basiletti with the Italian leading 5-3 in the opening set.
No.29 seed Joint will begin her campaign against Switzerland’s Viktorija Golubic, as she looks to become the first Australian through to the third round.
Daria Kasatkina's Rome campaign ended with a 6-3 6-2 loss to American Caty McNally 6-3 6-2.
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