Conor Niland has advanced to the second qualifying round of the French Open in Paris but Louk Sorensen bowed out after a straight sets defeat.
Niland, who lifted his first Challenger Tour title in almost two years last week, claimed a 6-4 6-4 victory over Great Britain’s Alex Bogdanovic at Roland Garros.
It was a fine victory for the 28-year-old, who was meeting a player currently eight places higher in the ATP rankings.
Niland will face Julian Reister of Germany in the second qualifying round on Wednesday, with two more victories required to book a place in the weekend’s main draw.
Meanwhile, it was a disappointing day for Sorensen, who went down 7-6 6-4 to Argentinian Jose Acasuso after a closely-fought contest which saw just one break of serve.
The task was always going to be a difficult one for the German-born Irish number 2, with Acasuso ranked more than 100 places above Sorensen going into the French Open qualifiers.
For more on Conor Niland, check out JOE’s exclusive interview, in which he looks forward to the French Open challenge and discusses the benefits of mental training.
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