Carlos Alcaraz was made to come from a set down but finally overcame Nicola Kuhn in the first round of the Hamburg European Open.
The highly rated Spanish teenager eventually downed the German wildcard 3-6 6-1 7-6 (7-3).
Kuhn, ranked 259 in the world, was aggressive early on against Alcaraz, and was rewarded with the first set.
But the 19-year-old – playing as top seed in an ATP Tour event for the first time – rallied to ease through the second set, before being made to work much harder to clinch the win on a tie-break.
Alcaraz will now play Filip Krajinovic in the second round after the Serbian also won in a third-set tie-break against Sebastian Baez 6-1 4-6 7-6 (8-6).
Three seeded players crashed out on Tuesday in straight sets, with third favourite Diego Schwartzman losing against Emil Ruusuvuori 7-5 6-4, sixth seed Nikoloz Basilashvili beaten by Aslan Karatsev 6-4 6-0, and eighth seed Holger Rune going down 7-6 (10-8) 7-5 to Tallon Griekspoor.
Fourth seed Pablo Carreno Busta eased through against Luca Nardi 6-2 6-1, while there were also wins for Fabio Fognini, who sealed his 400th career victory, as well as Daniel Elahi Galan, Borna Coric and Francisco Cerundolo.
At the Swiss Open in Gstaad, sixth seed Cristian Garin lost 6-3 6-4 to Yannick Hanfmann and seventh favourite Hugo Gaston fell to Dominic Thiem despite winning the first set, losing 1-6 6-1 7-6 (9-7).
Elsewhere, Frenchman Richard Gasquet beat Roberto Carballes Baena 7-5 6-4, while his compatriot Benoit Paire retired hurt when a set and a break down against Elias Ymer.
A tight game between Swiss pair Dominic Stricker and Marc-Andrea Huesler saw the former prevail 6-7 (2-7) 7-6 (7-2) 6-4, and an all-Spanish affair was similarly close as Jaume Munar defeated Bernabe Zapata Miralles 6-3 3-6 7-5.
There were also wins for qualifiers Juan Pablo Varillas and Nicolas Jarry against Lorenzo Sonego and Thiago Monteiro respectively.
Auger-Aliassime and Shapovalov sweep aside Finland at Davis Cup
Felix Auger-Aliassime and Denis Shapovalov moved Canada to the brink of qualification in the Davis Cup Finals group stage, comfortably dispatching Finland in Manchester.
Shapovalov needed just an hour and 13 minutes to beat Eero Vasa 7-6 (7-2) 6-2, backing up his win against Argentine Francisco Cerundolo on Tuesday.
The Canadian served five aces to his opponents' three, producing three love games in the final set to get his nation off to a flying start.
Auger-Aliassime followed up Shapovalov's victory with another straight sets win, this time over Otto Virtanen, emerging a 6-2 6-3 victor.
The world number 21 was dominant on serve throughout his 73-minute triumph, saving all three break points he faced and winning 86% of his first-serve points.
Auger-Aliassime and Shapovalov then prevailed in the doubles against Harri Heliovaara and Virtanen in another straight sets win, putting them top of Group D without dropping a set against their opponents.
Nadal confirms Laver Cup withdrawal to help Team Europe 'deliver the win'
Rafael Nadal confirmed he will not participate in next month's Laver Cup, believing there are "other players who can help the team deliver the win" for Team Europe.
Nadal last played at the Paris Olympics alongside Carlos Alcaraz in the men's doubles, with the Spanish duo knocked out at the quarter-final stage at Roland Garros.
The 38-year-old also competed in the singles but was hampered by a thigh problem in Paris and suffered a second-round loss to eventual gold medallist Novak Djokovic.
Nadal participated in the inaugural edition of the Laver Cup seven years ago, defeating Jack Sock to help Team Europe claim a 15-9 victory.
It is yet to be confirmed who will replace the 22-time grand slam champion in Berlin next month as captain Bjorn Borg now goes in search of adding to his star-studded line-up.
Alexander Zverev, Alcaraz, Daniil Medvedev, Casper Ruud and Stefanos Tsitsipas have already been confirmed as the participants to face Team World in Berlin.
Nadal posted a statement on social media, saying that he was making the decision for the benefit of the team.
“I’m really disappointed to share that I won’t be able to compete at the Laver Cup in Berlin next week," Nadal said.
"This is a team competition and to really support Team Europe, I need to do what’s best for them and at this moment there are other players who can help the team deliver the win.
"I have so many great, emotional memories from playing in the Laver Cup, and I was really looking forward to being with my teammates and with Bjorn in his final year as Captain.
"I wish Team Europe the very best of luck and will be cheering them on from afar.”
The news will accelerate speculation that retirement could be imminent for the Spaniard, who was unsure of his future following his exit from the Olympic Games.
Alcaraz grinds through to help Spain to Davis Cup win
Carlos Alcaraz got a stroke of luck as he helped Spain make a winning start to the Davis Cup Finals group-stage campaign against Czechia as Tomas Machac retired through injury.
The French Open and Wimbledon champion dropped the first set 6-7 (3-7), but rallied to finish the second 6-1, forcing a decider after getting two vital breaks.
However, Machac pulled up in the opening game of the third set with cramp and was unable to carry on after one hour and 41 minutes on the court.
It followed Roberto Bautista's flying start in their opening singles match in Group B as he cruised past Jiri Lehecka 7-6 (7-1) 6-4, with the Czech making 27 unforced errors as he failed to find an edge.
In the doubles, Alcaraz and Marcel Granollers then had to dig deep, coming from behind to beat Adam Pavlasek and Jakub Mensik in three sets to give Spain a 3-0 victory and take them top of the group.
Meanwhile, Great Britain also made a bright start to their campaign in Group D, despite US Open semi-finalist Jack Draper sitting out.
Dan Evans got them started in Manchester with a hard-earned 7-6 (7-3) 6-2 victory over Eero Vasa of Finland, converting both of his break points in the second set.
Billy Harris followed that up with an impressive tournament debut, looking unflappable as he earned the hosts an unattainable lead with his 6-4 7-6 (7-4) win over Otto Virtanen.
Finland got themselves on the board in the doubles though, with Evans and Neal Skupski unable to get the better of Harri Heliovaara and Virtanen ensuring it was only a 2-1 loss.
Elsewhere, the United States joined Germany at the top of Group C with their 3-0 win over Chile and Italy's Matteo Arnaldi held off a spirited Thiago Monteiro to put them in control against Brazil in Group A after Matteo Berrettini's earlier victory.
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