Germans advance

ByReuters

Published 20/07/2009 at 21:54 GMT

German Philipp Petzschner led the way as a group of his compatriots advanced to the second round of the German Open with the top seeds not in action until Tuesday.

TENNIS 2008 ATP Vienna Philipp Petzschner

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The world number 49 beat Frenchman Florent Serra 7-6 6-2 to set up a meeting with second seed Nikolay Davydenko.

Petzschner saved a staggering 10 out of 10 break points in the first set without carving out a single one for himself before clinching it in a tie-break.

The 25-year-old then got two successive breaks to go 4-0 up in the second and put the match beyond world number 51 Serra.

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Another German, wildcard entrant Daniel Brands, was made to work hard for a set and a half before beating Romanian Victor Crivoi 4-6 6-4 6-1. Brands next faces top seed Frenchman Gilles Simon.

Simon Greul also advanced after coming from a set down to defeat Serb Janko Tipsarevic 2-6 6-3 6-3 in a gutsy performance, while fellow German Andreas Beck also needed three sets to overcome Spaniard Oscar Hernandez 6-7 6-4 6-4.

World number 46 Andreas Seppi of Italy slumped to a 6-3 6-1 defeat by Russian Teimuraz Gabashvili, ranked 28 places below him.

All seeded players start their campaigns on Tuesday after being granted first-round byes.

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