This content was published 4 years ago. It may refer to a past edition of the Internazionali d’Italia.

Filip Krajinovic produced a solid display of tennis to defeat No.16 seed Felix Auger-Aliassime 6-4 7-5 in the first match on Court Centrale at the Internazionali BNL d’Italia.

The Serb needed one hour 43 minutes to record a well-deserved victory over the 20-year-old Canadian who struggled to find his rhythm or build any kind of momentum in the match.

“It was a tough draw. Felix is an unbelievable talent, he’s a top 20 player, and so I’m happy to win in two sets,” said Krajinovic who is making his debut at the Italian Open. “I’ve been working really hard and everything is paying off.”

The world No.29 enjoyed a good start to the year, recording back-to-back semi-final showings at Montpellier and Rotterdam and was in good form in the US, making the quarter-finals at Cincinnati and the third round at the US Open.

Krajinovic will face either Kyle Edmund or a qualifier/lucky loser in the second round.

Auger-Aliassime was not the only seed to fall on the opening day at the Foro Italico, No.11 seed Karen Khachanov also exited the tournament after losing 6-3 3-6 6-1 to Casper Ruud.