Delray Beach (USA), Feb 11 (IANS): Top British singles player Cameron Norrie made a winning return to the Delray Beach Open with a hard-fought straight-sets win against qualifier Zachary Svajda to reach the second round of the ATP 250 event.

The 29-year-old Norrie notched a 7-5, 6-4 win over Svajda in his first appearance in Delray Beach since winning the title in 2022. Norrie battled through a contest that swung from one side to another like a pendulum, featuring eight breaks of serve, to eventually seal an 88-minute victory in windy conditions in Florida.

In other first round matches in the event, American sixth seed Brandon Nakashima defeated qualifier James Trotter 7-6(2), 6-1 in 98 minutes. while seventh-seed Miomir Kecmanovic of Serbia beat Borna Gojo of Croatia 6-4, 6-4 in another Round of 32 match. The 25-year-old Serb, who reached the Delray Beach final in 2023, won 86 percent (32/27) of first-serve points, according to Infosys ATP Stats.

American Ethan Quinn suffered the disappointment of falling in the final round of qualifying on Sunday. But after getting into the main draw as a lucky loser, the 20-year-old took full advantage of his opportunity.

The 2023 NCAA singles champion battled past American qualifier Tristan Boyer 6-2, 6-7(5), 7-6(2) in three hours and 12 minutes. Quinn saved 12 of the 14 break points he faced to set a showdown with fifth seed Marcos Giron.

Fellow American Michael Minoh also advanced by beating Alexander Shevchenko of Kazakhstan 7-5, 7-6(5) in a clash that lasted nearly two hours.

But the focus was on Norrie as he returned to the ATP 250 event after a couple of years.

“I’m very satisfied, it was my first match outdoors in a while,” said Norrie, who improved to 9-3 in Delray Beach. “I was pretty nervous coming in, not moving my feet that well, but I’m pretty happy with how I finished both of the sets, playing my best level. That’s what counted," the Briton was quoted as saying by the ATP.

Norrie is one of four former champions in the Delray Beach field this week, along with Taylor Fritz, Kei Nishikori and Reilly Opelka. The former No. 8 in the PIF ATP Rankings will next face either Arthur Rinderknech or Gabriel Diallo in the second round.

In his first ATP head-to-head meeting with Svajda, Norrie squandered a break lead in both sets but remained resolute to outlast the qualifier in many of the longer exchanges. The Briton used the windy conditions to his advantage and was able to use his heavy topspin forehand to force errors from the American player.