Roland Garros champion Gaston Gaudio won the last 10 games after saving a second-set match point, rallying from near disaster on Monday to reach the second round of the Estoril Open.
The Argentine, whose buildup to his French Open title defense was compromised by last week's quarterfinal loss to Juan Carlos Ferrero in Barcelona, overcame Czech No. 76 Jan Hernych 6-7 (5/7), 7-5, 6-0.
It took two hours, 24 minutes for Gaudio to turn the tables. He had plenty of chances, with 22 break points (eight converted) against the 25-year-old outsider.
Hernych missed on a drop shot while trailing 0-5 in the final set to give Gaudio three match point chances; the second seed converted on the second with a backhand down the line.
Michal Tabara overcame Czech compatriot Tomas Berdych 1-6, 6-4, 6-1 while Spain's Santiago Ventura came from behind to oust Gilles Muller of Luxembourg 3-6, 6-1, 6-2.
The 532,000-euro ATP event is headed by top seed Carlos Moya along with Gaudio and the unseeded Ferrero, losing finalist Sunday in Barcelona against Rafael Nadal.
Dokic in slump
In the parallel women's tournament, Jelena Dokic vowed to start anew in an effort to recover from a slump which has left her with a ranking of 450.
The former world No. 4 had a poor return from a seven-week injury absence, crashing to a first-round loss against Ukrainian Alyona Bondarenka 6-2, 3-6, 6-2.
"I went from a ranking of 4 to 444," said the 2000 Wimbledon semifinalist who pulled off one of the greatest of Grand Slam upsets as she beat Martina Hingis in the first round five years ago.
"I need to start at the beginning, like I did when I was 14 or 15. At this stage I need match confidence," she said.
The Belgrade-born 22-year-old, admits there's massive work to be done if she's to make a start at recovering her game.
The match was the first time Dokic had hit a ball in anger since losing in qualifying last month in Indian Wells, where she injured her thigh.
The US$140,000 WTA event is the lowest on the women's professional ranks, with Dokic getting in on a special ranking.
But Dokic said she will play on at next week's tournament in Rabat, Morocco, and the following week in Prague before taking any decisions how to remedy her game.
Sixth-seeded Dally Randriantefy of Madagascar moved into the second round at the Estadio Nacional over Portugal's Nueza Silva 6-2, 6-2.
Australian Nicole Pratt, at the heart of a Fed Cup war of words with coach John Alexander over apparent financial arrangements, refused to speak of the affair which may have cost her country the weekend tie against China.
Pratt advanced in Estoril over Italy's Antonella Serra-Zanetti 2-6, 6-1, 6-1.
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