French journeyman Constant Lestienne wrote a small footnote in the history of men’s tennis on Monday when he won the first ATP Tour match in New Zealand for three years in the opening round of the Auckland Open. Now an Australian Open warm-up, the Auckland Open had been played every year since 1956 until New Zealand’s lockdown in the face of the COVID-19 pandemic forced the cancellation of the 2021 and 2022 editions.
