Brisbane, QLD, 2 October 2019 | Asher Packman

Aleksandar Vukic has fought back from a set down to post an opening round win at the Brisbane QTC International on Wednesday.

The No.1 seed was slow out of the blocks but recovered well to defeat Brandon Daly Walkin 6-7(4) 6-3 6-3. “It’s always a little difficult in the first match after a break so it’s good to get it rolling,” Vukic, 23, said. “I’m really just trying to play as many matches as I can here, hopefully do well.”

Vukic, who reached a career high of world No.255 in September, has posted some solid results this year including a semifinal appearance at an ATP Challenger event in Savannah.

“This has been my first real year out of college (University of Illinois) so it’s had its ups and downs which I kind of expected, but it’s been good to learn from everything,” said the Sydneysider. “I’m enjoying the process and hoping to finish the year strong.”

He now faces a tough assignment against Victorian Dayne Kelly for a quarterfinal berth.

Elsewhere, Harry Bourchier (No.3) made safe passage on Wednesday, alongside lucky loser Stephen Kaldawi, who upset Matthew Romios in three sets.

Last week’s surprise semifinalist in Darwin, wildcard Will Maher, continued his solid form with a 6-3 6-1 victory over Brit George Loffhagen, while teenager Tristan Schoolkate moved on from qualifying to defeat former Australian Pro Tour finalist Luca Castelnuovo of Switzerland.

In perhaps the most anticipated opening round clash, South Australian Bradley Mousley overcame Brit Brydan Klein (No.5) 7-6(3) 7-5.

The women’s event saw Darwin finalist, Abbie Myers, continue her purple patch with a crushing 6-1 6-1 win over Japanese lucky loser Misaki Matsuda, while both top seed Priscilla Hon and Maddison Inglis (No.3) were similarly impressive in their respective matches against wildcards Amber Marshall and Alexandra Osborne.

Wildcard Ivana Popovic, a semifinalist in Darwin, was pushed all the way against Japan’s Miharu Imanishi, but eventually prevailed 6-3 1-6 7-5.

No.5 seed Olivia Rogowska was unable to withstand the challenge from Belinda Woolcock, succumbing 6-2 5-7 6-4 in their all-Australian encounter.

Live scores of all Australian Pro Tour events are available through www.tennis.com.au/protour/scores and for a live stream of selected events visit www.tennis.com.au/protour. For updates, follow @oztennisresults on Twitter.