Madrid, Spain (Sports Network) - World No. 1 Novak Djokovic needed three
sets to reach the third round, while Juan Martin del Potro, fresh off his
title in Estoril, continued his winning ways with a first-round win at the $4
million Madrid Open, an ATP World Tour 1000 Masters event.
The reigning Madrid titlist Djokovic hiccupped in the second set Tuesday on
the way to a 6-2, 2-6, 6-3 victory over Spanish qualifier Daniel Gimeno
Traver. Both players struck seven aces in the 1-hour, 46-minute affair.
Djokovic, who will meet the Stan Wawrinka-Jurgen Melzer winner here on
Thursday, beat Spanish hero and two-time Madrid champ Rafael Nadal in last
year's finale.
The 10th-seeded world No. 11 del Potro popped eight aces in flooring German
Florian Mayer 6-4, 6-2 to reach the second round on the unusual blue clay at
The Magic Box.
Del Potro will face Russian and fellow former top-10 star Mikhail Youzhny on
Wednesday.
Meanwhile, sixth-seeded Czech slugger Tomas Berdych eased into the third round
with a 6-4, 6-3 handling of tall South African Kevin Anderson. The former
Wimbledon runner-up Berdych will meet acrobatic Frenchman Gael Monfils on Day
4.
In opening-round play, ninth-seeded Frenchman Gilles Simon came from behind to
get past Italian Fabio Fognini 6-7 (1-7), 6-3, 6-3 and the 12th-seeded oft-
injured Monfils, playing in his first match since March, cooled off
last week's Munich champion Philipp Kohlschreiber of Germany 7-5, 6-7 (2-7),
6-3.
In other first-round action involving seeds, Melzer upended No. 13 Spaniard
and fellow lefthander Feliciano Lopez 3-6, 7-6 (8-6), 6-4; No. 14 Frenchman
Richard Gasquet overcame Brazil's Thomaz Bellucci 4-6, 6-4, 7-6 (7-5); No. 15
Spaniard Fernando Verdasco topped Uzbekistan's Denis Istomin 7-5, 6-2; and No.
16 Ukrainian Alexandr Dolgopolov doused Spaniard Pablo Andujar 7-6 (7-5), 6-4.
Last week's Belgrade titlist Andreas Seppi stayed hot with a 7-5, 6-4 victory
over France's Michael Llodra, while rising Canadian Milos Raonic drove out
former top-five star David Nalbandian of Argentina 6-4, 6-4 in opening-round
play.
In other first-round action, Czech Radek Stepanek defeated Aussie Bernard
Tomic 6-2, 7-5; Croat Marin Cilic handled Spaniard Albert Montanes 6-3, 6-3;
Wawrinka bested Belgian Olivier Rochus 6-4, 7-6 (7-4); Spain's Marcel
Granollers snuck past Argentine Carlos Berlocq, 7-5, 3-6, 7-5; and Argentine
Federico Delbonis erased Spain's Albert Ramos 6-3, 6-2.
A second-seeded Nadal, Roger Federer, Jo-Wilfried Tsonga, David Ferrer and
John Isner will also be among those seeing second-round action on Wednesday.
The second-seeded former No. 1 Nadal will take on former top-five Russian
Nikolay Davydenko, while the third-seeded former top-ranked Federer will
battle the surging Raonic. Federer, like Nadal, is a two-time champion in
Madrid.
Nadal holds the record with 20 Masters titles, including one in Monte
Carlo last month, while Federer owns 19 Masters shields.
The 2012 Madrid Open champ will earn $770,000.
The Sports Network