Sofia, Bulgaria , 28 September 2022 | Leigh Rogers

Sofia, Bulgaria

Aleksandar Vukic has scored his fifth tour-level win of the season – and first since February.

The 26-year-old Australian posted a hard-fought 7-6(11) 7-5 victory against former top-10 ranked Italian Fabio Fognini in the opening round of an ATP 250 tournament in Sofia.

World No.144 Vukic recovered from a 3-6 deficit in the opening-set tiebreak – and saved six set points in total, before clinching the 24-point tiebreak.

He then held on to that momentum to defeat world No.57 Fognini after one hour and 54 minutes on court. It is Vukic’s fourth career victory over a top 60-ranked opponent.

It is a welcome return to form for Vukic, who was sidelined with injury for three months midseason. It derailed a promising season start, which saw Vukic reach a first ATP quarterfinal in Adelaide, score a first Grand Slam main draw win at the Australian Open and then rise to a career-high ranking of No.117 in February after claiming an ATP Challenger title in India.

Vukic will face either Spanish veteran Fernando Verdasco or sixth-seeded Georgian Nikoloz Basilashvili in the second round.

Aussies in action – Sofia

RESULTS
Men’s singles, first round
Aleksandar Vukic (AUS) d Fabio Fognini (ITA) 7-6(11) 7-5

COMING UP
Men’s singles, second round
Aleksandar Vukic (AUS) v TBC

Seoul, Korea

Injury has derailed Chris O’Connell’s campaign at an ATP 250 tournament in Seoul.

The 28-year-old Australian, who advanced to his first tour-level semifinal last week, was forced to retire after losing the opening set to Chinese Taipei’s Tseng Chun-Hsin in their opening-round clash.

John Peers also bowed out in the doubles competition, losing his first-round match alongside Serbia’s Miomir Kecmanovic.

Aussies in action – Seoul

RESULTS
Men’s singles, first round
Tseng Chun-Hsin (TPE) d Chris O’Connell (AUS) 6-4 ret.

Men’s doubles, first round
[3] Diego Hidalgo (ECU)/Cristian Rodriguez (COL) d John Peers (AUS)/Miomir Kecmanovic (SRB) 6-2 6-1

Tallinn, Estonia

Olivia Tjandramulia and French partner Jessika Ponchet have powered into the quarterfinals at a WTA 250 tournament in Tallinn.

The duo needed only 56 minutes to defeat wildcard pairing Valentini Grammatikopoulou of Greece and Daniela Vismane of Latvia in the opening round.

This propels 25-year-old Tjandramulia, who is ranked world No.123 in doubles, into her fourth tour-level quarterfinal of the season.

Aussies in action – Tallinn

RESULTS
Women’s doubles, first round
Olivia Tjandramulia (AUS)/Jessika Ponchet (FRA) d [WC] Valentini Grammatikopoulou (GRE)/Daniela Vismane (LAT) 6-2 6-1

COMING UP
Women’s doubles, quarterfinals
Olivia Tjandramulia (AUS)/Jessika Ponchet (FRA) v TBC

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