(Tennis news) The Sydney Tennis Classic along with the Adelaide International 2 will be the final tournaments before the 2022 Australian Open. Both the events started on 10th January and the finals will be held 5 days later as players get to play for one last time before the opening Grand Slam.

David Goffin brushed off his 6 match losing streak which started in May with a win over Facundo Bagnis in the first round at Sydney Tennis Classic. The Belgian moved well around the court for somebody who had been affected with knee injury last season, Goffin’s court coverage helped him to win the longer rallies. It was a contest of the baseliners and the 8th seed did not look out of control at any point of the match as the Argentine had a few forehand winners which were classy but could not construct points like Goffin. Goffin defeated Bagnis 6-4, 6-4.

Fabio Fognini recorded his first victory in over three months when he played against Daniel Altmaier in the first round. The Italian started hitting winners in the first 60 seconds of the match, Altmaier’s one handed backhand did wow the crowds at times and it looked a bit similar to that of former player Sam Groth. Altmaier was consistently serving well and had 9 aces but could not execute final touches especially at the net where he lost all 7 points.

Fognini was completely controlling the groundstrokes from the baseline and had issues with the youngster’s backhand which on a few occasions completely stumped the Italian. The 23 year old did seem to take control in the second set but his net play caused him to lose the lead as Fognini got his 387th career win on tour. Fognini defeated Altmaier 6-3, 7-5.

Wildcard Jordan Thompson tried his luck at Sydney after exiting early at Adelaide and it worked. Thompson was seen sporting long hair and a moustache which seemed perfectly apt at home. He took some time to settle in the court against Marcos Giron and got his first break after 20 minutes with a backhand winner that made sure it had contact with the line. Giron kept the Australian busy at the baseline as he made sure not to hurry through the points as Thompson took the chances. The first set ended when Giron finally hit a forehand wide and in the second set there was no change from Giron.

Thompson began playing more aggressively as he opened up a 4-2 lead and even kept changing his tactics. He often played the long rallies with Giron but with a slice followed up with a heavy groundstroke ensured that Giron remained clueless at the net. The world number 73 will see how far his luck goes as he will face Reily Opelka in the next round. Thompson defeated Giron 6-4, 6-2.

Also read: Sofia exits early at Sydney Tennis Classic, Kvitova wins marathon match