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After an early trade of service breaks,
Fucsovics held a 3-0 lead in the tiebreak before a lapse in
concentration allowed Coric to secure the first set en-route his
16th match win of the season.
Coric, seeded 15th, won 35 of his 48 first-serve points to set
up a second round clash with Australian Jordan Thompson, who
overcame Argentine Federico Delbonis 6-2 6-3.
"It was not an easy match, and every time we have played it's
been very tough," said Coric, who recorded his third straight
victory over Fucsovics.
"I played one bad game at 2-1 in the first set, when I missed
two first serves, but pretty much the rest of the time I was
serving huge."
Despite clinching an opening-set bagel, 2014 U.S. Open champion
Marin Cilic was made to work hard by Canadian youngster Felix
Auger-Aliassime before he posted a 6-0 3-6 6-3 victory.
Auger-Aliassime leaked 14 unforced errors in the opening set but
found a way past his Croatian opponent in the second, needing 21
minutes to engineer a break of serve in the eighth game.
The 20-year-old, however, needed a medical timeout early in the
third set due to a hip issue, which allowed Cilic to regroup and
book a spot in the second round.
Earlier, Spanish veteran Feliciano Lopez saved six set points in
the opening set tiebreak to edge out Serbia's Filip Krajinovic
7-6(11) 6-1.
Lopez will next face compatriot Rafa Nadal, who is bidding for a
record-equalling 36th Masters title this week.
The tournament is held without spectators because of the
lockdown measures in France amid the COVID-19 pandemic.
(Reporting by Hardik Vyas in Bengaluru, editing by Pritha Sarkar)
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