Lexus Eastbourne Open 2026: Giles Hussey beats Matteo Arnaldi in second tour level win of his career
• 2 minute read
British qualifier Giles Huessey moved past Matteo Arnaldi in straight sets to book a place in the second round at the Lexus Eastbourne Open.
The Brit - who picked up his first tour level win here in 2024 - moved past the Roland Garros semi-finalist 6-4, 6-2 in and hour and 28 minutes.
Hussey made his way through qualifying, earning straight-set wins over world No.78 James Duckworth and world No.94 Marco Trungelliti to qualify for the second ATP Tour event of his career.
The 29-year-old captured up his second highest career win - after his win here two years ago over world No.32 Navone - against the world No.35 who's ranked 258 places higher than him. In winning, he sets up a second round clash with lucky loser Quentin Halys.
The Frenchman joins the main draw following the withdrawal of second seed Joao Fonseca due to a shoulder injury. It will be the pair’s first meeting.
Hussey achieved his career-high ranking of world No.293 earlier this month following a run to a maiden ATP Challenger title in Centurion, alongside some deep runs on the ITF circuit.
Hussey turned the pressure on early, hunting down the Italian’s serve in the third game of the set – he was rewarded with the crucial break point to go into the lead.
The Brit - who played tennis in the NCAA system in American for Georgia State and University of Tennessee - managed to hold onto that lead throughout the set with some strong serving. Hussey dropped just five points behind his serve and didn’t face a single break point.
Hussey wasn’t able to convert the four set points he created on Arnaldi’s serve in the penultimate game but instead served out the opener with a love hold.
The world No.293 continued on form in the second set – quickly rattling off the first four games to bank an early lead.
Arnaldi threatened a comeback at 4-2 when he broke the Brits serve for the first time in a match but Hussey held his nerve, taking back the break in the next game. From there, it wasn’t long before the Brit secured the win on his third match point to reach the second round of the tournament.
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