Alex de Minaur has begun his bid to wrench his French Open woes out of his system, returning to winning ways on the grass courts of a Dutch tournament he won two years ago.
Deeply deflated and self-critical after his defeat by Jakub Mensik at Roland Garros just under a fortnight ago, the Australian No.1 had been undecided whether to take a break or throw himself straight back into action for a pick-me-up on the grass, a surface he much prefers.
Having eventually decided to "get straight back on the bike'' by taking a wildcard for the event he won in 2024, de Minaur, 's-Hertogenbosch's second seed, made heavy weather of winning a "very, very tough match" against impressive young American qualifier Martin Damm in a rain-interrupted round-of-16 affair.
Back at 's-Hertogenbosch for the traditional pre-Wimbledon event, the Australian No.1 looked as if he was thinking ''here we go again'', disgusted to have thrown away a 4-0 first-set lead as Damm battled back, helped by a lengthy rain stoppage, to forge a 5-4 lead.
The American proved stubborn in a tiebreak de Minaur largely controlled too, saving three set points until the Australian took it out 10-8.
It didn't get any easier for "Demon'' in the second stanza as Damm, playing with confident aggression, gave up just one break point, which he managed to salvage.
But receiving at 5-6, de Minaur made his move, earning a couple of match points, which Damm repelled, before the American could do nothing about a sensational backhand passing shot at full stretch that ended his resistance after an hour and 51 minutes.
Asked what had been his biggest challenge on his return to action, de Minaur admitted with a wry smile: "Everything!
"It was a tough day, a little bit of wind, a little bit of rain, and a very good opponent, a very tricky opponent, so I'm happy I managed to get that win, but it was a very, very tough match.
"It feels great to be back on the grass. There's definitely things I would like to get a little bit better, but, hey, I can't complain. It's a part of the year which I really like, and even though we're not having the best weather, I actually enjoy being here in Holland and I'm hoping that I can stay here for a long time."
De Minaur, who will meet French opposition in the next round in either fifth-seeded Ugo Humbert or qualifier Benjamin Bonzi, wasn't the only Australian winner at 's-Hertogenbosch, with James McCabe earning a fine win over Belgian Zizou Bergs 6-7 (2-7) 6-2 7-6 (7-4).
In the WTA event running alongside, Ajla Tomljanovic also looked glad to be back on the grass courts as she earned an emphatic 6-3 6-1 win over Spaniard Jessica Bouzas Maneiro, a player ranked 55 places higher than Australia's 33-year-old world No.109.
