#NextGenATP Frenchman Luca Van Assche made a winning start on debut at the Hamburg European Open on Monday when he overcame countryman Alexandre Muller 7-6(3), 6-4 to reach the second round.

The 19-year-old won 50 per cent (31/62) of points on Muller’s first serve and rallied from a double break down in the second set, winning five consecutive games from 1-4 to clinch his victory after two hours and 15 minutes.

Van Assche is into the second round at a tour-level event for the sixth time this season and will aim to reach the third round for the first time when he meets seventh seed Alejandro Davidovich Fokina or Gstaad champion Pedro Cachin at the ATP 500 clay-court event.

Van Assche is currently sixth in the Pepperstone ATP Live Next Gen Race with 521 points. The Frenchman is seeking to make his debut at the Next Gen ATP Finals at the end of the season.

In other action, Laslo Djere earned his seventh Top 50 win of the season when he moved past Tomas Martin Etcheverry, who reached the quarter-finals on clay at Roland Garros in June.

The Serbian advanced 7-6(2), 6-3 in one hour and 48 minutes to set a second-round meeting against Guido Pella. The Argentine Pella moved past Brazilian Thiago Monteiro 6-3, 4-6, 6-4.

Daniel Altmaier completed the day’s play with a 7-5, 6-4 victory over former World No. 7 Richard Gasquet. The German had previously trailed Gasquet 0-2 in their Lexus ATP Head2Head series, but won 52 per cent of his return points and broke the Frenchman’s serve six times to advance.

Roland Garros Doubles Finalists Advance
Belgians Sander Gille and Joran Vliegen made a good start in Hamburg with a 6-2, 6-4 win against German wild cards Constantin Frantzen and Hendrik Jebens. The Roland Garros finalists are this week pursuing their third title of the season.

The Dutch-Croatian duo of Robin Haase and Nikola Mektic also reached the second round with a 6-4, 6-4 victory over Sebastian Baez and Bernabe Zapata Miralles.