Holger Rune, Sebastian Baez, Arthur Fils begin Paris Olympics prep with Hamburg wins

Five seeded players took the court Tuesday at the Hamburg European Open. All five successfully cleared their first-round hurdles.

Second seed Holger Rune led the way. Coming off a round of 16 showing at Wimbledon, Rune defeated Fabian Marozsan, 6-4, 6-4.  The Dane saved all four break points he faced, upping his season record to 26-14.

Afterwards, he addressed the injury concern that emerged after he built a one-set lead.

“I have to check with the physios when I come off the court. Hopefully I’ll be back on Thursday, I strongly believe so,” he shared with ATP Media. “I felt something in my knee when I did a sprint at the beginning of the second set. The good thing is I could run."

Sebastian Baez, the No. 3 seed, brushed aside home hopeful Dominik Koepfer with a 6-2, 6-3 victory. Baez is seeking his third clay-court title of the season and second at the 500 level, following triumphs in Rio de Janeiro and Santiago.

Fifth seed Arthur Fils needed to work harder in his opener. The 20-year-old rallied to beat Jaume Munar, 5-7, 6-3, 6-1, in two hours and 11 minutes. Fils reached the semifinals here last year after ousting top seed Casper Ruud in straight sets (WATCH ABOVE).

Seventh seed Luciano Darderi and eighth seed Zhang Zhizhen also advanced. Darderi overcame lucky loser Nick Hardt, 6-1, 2-6, 6-0. Zhang eased past Thiago Seyboth Wild, 7-6 (6), 6-0.

Rune, Baez, Fils, Darderi and Zhang are all slated to represent their nations at the upcoming Paris Olympics, held at Roland Garros.