Bastl beaten in London
Switzerland's George Bastl has been knocked out in the first round of the Queen's grass court tournament in London, losing in straight sets to French 13th seed Cédric Pioline.
Pioline (ATP 70) appeared comfortable enough in the opening set of Tuesday’s encounter but needed a tie-break in the second set to complete his 6-3, 7-6 victory.
The defeat marked a further set-back to Bastl’s preparations for Wimbledon. Last week the Swiss number four managed to reach only the second round of the Surbiton grass court tournament, before losing to South Africa’s Justin Bower (ATP 182).
Bastl’s departure from Queen’s also brought to an end Swiss interest in the London tournament, following similar first round exits by Marc Rosset and Michel Kratochvil.
There was better news in the women’s game, though, with Switzerland’s Marie-Gaiane Mikaelian (WTA 253) enjoying a decent win on the hardcourts of Tashkent.
The Armenian-born Swiss saw off Germany’s Angelika Bachmann (WTA 154) in straight sets (6-3, 6-0).
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