ROTTERDAM: Robin Soderling won his first-round match against Florent Serra 4-6, 6-4, 6-1 at the ABN Amro tennis tournament Monday.
Top-seeded Novak Djokovic and Nikolay Davydenko play their first-round matches on Tuesday.
Third-seeded Soderling was a finalist in Rotterdam two years ago when he lost to Michael Llodra, who returned this year unseeded. It was Soderling’s first win of the year.
In other matches, Florian Mayer defeated Janko Tipsarevic 6-3, 6-7 (8), 7-6 (8) and Andreas Seppi beat qualifier Stephane Bohli 6-1, 7-5.
Last year’s winner, Andy Murray, is not defending his title, and 2009 runner-up Rafael Nadal pulled out with an injury sustained at last month’s Australian Open.
Lisicki speeds ahead
In Pattaya, Germany’s second seed Sabine Lisicki needed just 32 minutes to advance to the second round of the Pattaya Open on Monday when her opponent Akgul Amanmuradova from Uzbekistan retired injured.
Lisicki was leading 5-0 when the trainer was called to administer on-court treatment to her Uzbek rival who was suffering from a stomach muscle injury. But after dropping the next game Amanmuradova conceded the match.
Troubled Russian Anna Chakvetadze earned a welcome 6-1, 3-6, 6-3 victory over American Jill Craybas but was still unhappy with her form.
The Russian has struggled for some time to recover the form that once took her as high as five in the world. Now she is ranked 74 as her slump that began after the 2008 US Open has extended from 2009 into this season.
Last month she was beaten by Date Krumm in the first round in Auckland, and she then failed even to survive the qualifying rounds in Hobart. At the Australian Open she fell to 12th-ranked Flavia Pennetta in the first round.
Chakvetadze dominated the first set after recovering a break of serve in the opening game. In a hard-hitting baseline battle, she was able to take advantage of a succession of Craybas errors as the American over-pressed in seeking an advantage.After a Craybas backhand error allowed Chakvetadze to level at 1-1, a finely-struck forehand winner down the line gave the Russian a break at love to lead 3-1, and another backhand error left Chakvetadze serving for the set.
Chakvetadze also earned the first break of the second set to lead 2-1, but by reducing her unforced errors Craybas swept the next three games to lead 4-2.
Although Chakvetadze then broke in the seventh game, a forehand volley that landed wide gave Craybas a 5-3 lead.
After an early exchange of breaks in the second set, the Russian proved to be the stronger player in the final stages, breaking to lead 5-3 when Craybas netted a forehand and then serving out the match at love.
Wimbledon junior champion Noppawan Lertcheewakarn of Thailand led South Africa’s Chanelle Scheepers by a set and 4-1 but then fell 6-7 (9-11), 6-4, 6-4 in a battle that stretched to two hours 40 minutes.
