Australian men shine at Citi Open

On the opening day of the ATP tournament in Washington on Monday - which was haltered by a rain delay - John Millman, James Duckworth and Jordan Thompson all emerged triumphant in their first round contests in straight sets.

John Millman defeated Denis Kudla 7-5, 6-0, winning in just over an hour.

It was a perfect day for John Millman, James Duckworth and Jordan Thompson at the Citi Open as the Australian trio won through to the second round. On the opening day of the ATP tournament in Washington on Monday - which was haltered by a rain delay - Millman, Duckworth and Thompson all emerged triumphant in straight sets.

Millman was too good for local hopeful Denis Kudla 7-5, 6-0, winning in just over an hour. A total of five aces and as many break points helped Millman secure a second-round meeting with Marcos Baghdatis.

Qualifier Duckworth got the better of another American, overcoming Tim Smyczek 7-5 6-1, and was never broken as he booked a showdown against top seed John Isner. As for Thompson, he defeated Victor Estrella Burgos 6-3 6-2.

Elsewhere, Benjamin Becker was upstaged by Daniel Evans 6-2 6-1 in less than 50 minutes.

Vasek Pospisil won the opening set but fell to a 1-6, 6-2, 7-6 (7-4) defeat against Yuichi Sugita and Taylor Fritz saw off Dudi Sela 6-4, 6-3. Jared Donaldson overcame fellow qualifier Vincent Millot 5-7, 6-2, 6-4, Bjorn Fratangelo prevailed 4-6 6-2 6-4 over Alex Kuznetsov, while Adrian Mannarino outlasted Frances Tiafoe 7-6 (7-4), 7-5.