Alexander Zverev stunned by Jordan Thompson, Felix Auger-Aliassime overcomes Aleksandar Vukic at Japan Open

Jordan Thompson stunned world No. 9 Alexander Zverev with a 6-3 6-4 first-round win at the Japan Open.

The Australian prevailed in straight sets in just over an hour-and-a-half to set up a second-round meeting with either US Open semi-finalist Ben Shelton or Taro Daniel.

The defeat is a blow to Zverev’s hopes of reaching the Nitto ATP Finals in Turin.

“He played quite good, he served quite good, but it’s just a very, very bad match for me. I don’t know what to say.”

The winner in Tokyo will amass 500 ranking points, while those competing in Stockholm and Antwerp will gain 250 points each.

World No. 9 Zverev was in trouble early against Thompson after losing his serve in the fourth game, as the Australian moved into a 3-1 lead on his third break point.

Thompson did not show many chinks in his armour to allow the German back into the set, and staved off one break point in the ninth game before taking the set.

A Zverev revival looked on the cards when he secured an early break of Thompson’s serve to move 2-0 ahead in the second set, but the world No. 60 immediately broke back.

Thompson had the opportunity to serve for the match after breaking Zverev again to move 5-4 in front, and he claimed the win on his third match point.

It was a memorable win for Thompson, who admits this gives him hope of beating the world’s best players.

“I haven’t done anywhere near as much as he has but when I get on the court with these guys, I’ve got to believe that I can beat them,” added the 29-year-old.

“If you don’t believe it, you may as well not be out here, so I’m just really enjoying the challenge.”

Felix Auger-Aliassime is safely through to round two with a three-set win over another Australian, Aleksandar Vukic.

Auger-Aliassime prevailed with a 7-6(3) 6-7(2) 6-2 win to end a four-match losing streak, and will face Sebastian Ofner on Thursday.

The Canadian certainly did not have everything his own way in a gripping contest, and the tone was set in a tight seventh game in the first set.

Vukic was eventually broken after a sixth break point in a game which went to deuce five times.

Auger-Aliassime squandered a set point while leading 5-4, as world No. 54 Vukic hit back to level the scores at 5-5 before a tie-break ensued.

Auger-Aliassime won the tie-break 7-3 to take an opening set that lasted an hour and five minutes.

Vukic hit back with impressive gusto in the second set, breaking the Canadian’s serve in the fifth game to move 3-2 up, before straining every sinew to claim a crucial hold at 4-2 after swatting away six break points.

However, the 27-year-old squandered his chance to serve for the set and surrendered a 30-0 lead to wipe out his advantage.

The Australian would go on to comprehensively win the tie-break on this occasion though, as Auger-Aliassime lost on his serve three times and the score was levelled.

In contrast to the closeness of the opening two sets, Auger-Aliassime powered through in set three with relative ease to win the match.

Vukic was broken to love in the first game, and despite putting up a better fight on his next serve, the Canadian extended his lead to 3-0.

This was the first of three consecutive games without a service hold, but the damage had already been done at 4-1 and Auger-Aliassime won the third set 6-2 on his second match point.