Defending champion Sebastian Baez made a winning start to his Generali Open title defence after defeating Miomir Kecmanovic 6-3, 3-6, 6-4 in the opening round, earning his first career victory over the Serbian.
The Argentine had lost all three of their previous ATP Tour meetings but finally broke through after one hour and 49 minutes on the clay courts in Kitzbühel.
"I love this place," Baez said after the match. "The key today was to stay focused on every point. The conditions here can be tricky because of the altitude, but I handled it well and I'm happy to be through."
Baez, who won the Kitzbühel title in 2023 by defeating Austria's Dominic Thiem in the final, will next face third seed Arthur Rinderknech as he looks to retain the trophy. The victory also improved his season record to 20-16.
Elsewhere, sixth seed Jan-Lennard Struff battled back from a set down to beat Aleksandr Shevchenko 3-6, 7-6(5), 6-4 in his first match since reaching the Wimbledon quarter-finals. The German will meet Argentina's Mariano Navone in the second round.
There were also a pair of seeded casualties. Eighth seed Juan Manuel Cerundolo was swept aside 6-2, 6-1 by fellow Argentine Marco Trungelliti, while seventh seed Raphael Collignon suffered a 6-3, 6-2 defeat to Germany's Daniel Altmaier.
Quentin Halys also progressed after edging Laslo Djere 7-6(4), 6-4 to set up a meeting with second seed Valentin Vacherot.
Meanwhile, Slovakia's Alex Molcan defeated home favourite Sebastian Ofner 6-4, 6-4 and will take on Altmaier in the next round.
