Stepanek sees off Gil

 

Originally published on: 26/02/10 12:53

Stepanek, the world number 14, dominated on his serve and took less than an hour and 10 minutes to claim a 6-2 6-3 victory.

Fifth seed Nicolas Almagro also made it through with a 6-4 6-4 win over Wayne Odesnik.

Odesnik served nine aces, one more than his opponent, but the Spaniard was far more powerful on his service game.

Fourth seed Philipp Kohlschreiber was leading Victor Crivoi 6-2 3-0 after 34 minutes of play when his Romanian opponent retired with a right shoulder injury.

Third seed Gael Monfils, one behind Stepanek in the world rankings, moved into the second round after beating Guillermo Garcia-Lopez 7-5 6-4.

The 23-year-old won 79 per cent of service points and hit seven aces as he looks to clinch one of two remaining spots at the Barclays ATP World Tour Finals in November.

Serbian Janko Tipsarevic, who lost to Mikhail Youzhny in his first ATP World Tour final at the Kremlin Cup in Moscow, ousted eighth-seeded American John Isner 7-6 (7/4) 6-4 in just over 90 minutes.

Daniel Koellerer beat Jarkko Nieminen 6-1 6-2 while Dominik Hrbaty enjoyed a 6-3 6-4 win over Ruben Ramirez Hidalgo.

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