Former champions Juan Martin del Potro and Andy Murray showed off improved fitness in first-round victories over French opponents on Wednesday at the Rotterdam World Tennis.
Del Potro, the world No. 4 and top seed, tested his delicate left wrist over nearly one-and-three-quarter hours as he beat Gael Monfils 7-6 (8/6), 6-3.
Murray, a late wild-card into the field as he builds strength after his back operation last year, dispatched Edouard Roger-Vasselin 6-3, 6-3.
The Scot won the title at the Ahoy stadium in 2009 over Rafael Nadal, while Del Potro is defending his last year’s trophy.
Murray finished with 29 winners and broke three times. The win came a week-and-a-half after he led Britain past the US in Davis Cup play in San Diego.
The world No. 6 is playing the event for the fourth time in his bid for a 29th career title.
“I served really well for a set and a half, at the end it’s natural that you get a bit nervous, I moved well and made him play the extra ball,” he said.
“It got tough at the end and I’m glad I pulled this one off in two sets. I hope to have another good run here this week,” he added.
Del Potro repeated his win over the flamboyant and crowd-pleasing Monfils from last year, when he beat the Frenchman in their only other meeting.
Monfils came to the first-round start after winning a title at the weekend and has been beaten this year only by Del Potro and Nadal in a 12-3 season.
Del Potro is recovering from a wrist problem which gave him pain at the Australian Open and sent him to a US specialist last month for consultations and a recovery program.
“It felt better, but I’m still not quite able to hit my backhand as I like,” said the South American, who sent last week’s Montpellier champion out on a second match point when he drove a forehand winner down the line.
After starting off in somewhat poor humor on Kids Day in a noisy stadium, Monfils settled in, matching Del Potro in long rallies and occasionally leaping for an overhead or throwing himself at a passing shot and rolling on the hardcourt.
Del Potro will next play another Frenchman in qualifier Paul-Henri Mathieu. The Argentine is a huge threat when he is top-seeded: In his past five tournaments at the top of the draw he has lifted five titles and has won 24 matches.
Murray swept through the first set against the 35th-ranked Roger-Vasselin and went up an early break in the second. He will play Austrian Dominic Thiem, who put out Finnish veteran Jarkko Nieminen 6-4, 4-6, 6-4.
Two more seeds fought through to the second round as Frenchman Richard Gasquet, beat Dutchman Thiemo de Bakker 6-7 (5/7), 7-6 (7/2), 6-3 and 35-year-old sixth seed Tommy Haas overcame Spain’s Fernando Verdasco, Spain.
Nicolas Mahut of France reached the second round over lucky loser Daniel Brands 7-5, 6-3.
US INDOOR
AFP, MEMPHIS, Tennessee
Defending champion Kei Nishikori of Japan advanced to the quarter-finals of the US$647,000 ATP US Indoor Championships on Wednesday by defeating Germany’s Benjamin Becker 6-4, 6-4.
Nishikori, a top seed for the first time in an ATP event, led 4-2 in the second set, but was broken in the eighth game by Becker to level the set.
The German double-faulted away a break in the ninth game and Nishikori held for the victory after 84 minutes.
The 17th-ranked Japanese star denied Becker on 5-of-8 break points, while winning the same amount of break chances from the German.
Nishikori, who like all top-four seeds enjoyed a first-round bye, also connected on 65 percent of his first serves to 48 percent for Becker.
Nishikori, who scored three points to lead Japan over Canada in a Davis Cup tie earlier this month, reached a last-eight matchup on Friday last week against Russian Alex Bogomolov, who defeated American Ryan Harrison 6-3, 2-6, 6-2 in another second-round match on Wednesday.
Also reaching the quarter-finals were Americans Jack Sock, who bounced Czech Jiri Vesely 6-2, 6-1, and Michael Russell, who ousted countryman Tim Smyczek 6-2, 7-6 (7/5).
Russell will next face the winner of a Tuesday matchup between Australian third seed Lleyton Hewitt and Cypriot wild-card Marcos Baghdatis.
Either Spanish second seed Feliciano Lopez or Croatia’s Ivo Karlovic will face Sock in the quarter-finals.
US qualifier Denis Kudla beat compatriot Donald Young 6-1, 6-1 to book a second-round match yesterday against Taiwan fourth seed Lu Yen-hsun.
COPA CLARO
AP, BUENOS AIRES
Second-seeded Fabio Fognini of Italy reached the quarter-finals of the Copa Claro on Wednesday, defeating Leonardo Mayer of Argentina 6-7(4/7), 6-3, 6-2.
Fognini also defeated Mayer on Sunday in the Royal Guard Open final in Vina del Mar, Chile.
Third-seeded Tommy Robredo of Spain also got through to the quarter-finals, beating Guido Pella of Argentina 4-6, 6-1, 6-4.
Fourth-seeded Nicolas Almagro, who beat Horacio Zeballos of Argentina 6-2, 7-5, advanced to the second round of the clay-court tournament.
Almagro has won 12 ATP titles — all on clay — and six have come on the annual Latin American swing.
Top-seeded David Ferrer plays his second-round match yesterday.
Fifth-seeded Marcel Granollers was upset by fellow Spaniard Pablo Andujar 6-3, 6-0. Andujar reached the quarter-finals.
Eighth-seeded Jeremy Chardy of France advanced to the second round, defeating Alejandro Gonzalez of Colombia 6-4, 7-5.
Other unseeded players advancing to the second round included Alexandr Dolgopolov of Ukraine and Daniel Gimeno-Traver of Spain.
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