Andreev out as seeds suffer

 

Originally published on: 26/02/10 12:17

Andreev was expected to coast through his opening match with unheralded Croatian qualifier Ivan Dodig, but instead came unstuck 6-1 6-4 against a player ranked more than 400 places below him.

Dodig, 425 in the world, had not won on the ATP Tour before while the 21st-ranked Andreev’s poor start to 2009 continues after he also suffered a first-round defeat in Doha.

Andreev, however, was not alone in making an earlier than expected exit. Fifth seed Jurgen Melzer and eighth seed Simone Bolelli, a semi-finalist at this event last year, also crashed out in straight sets.

Germany’s Mischa Zverev then capped a bad day for the big guns when, in the final evening match, he ousted sixth seed Andreas Seppi 7-6 (7/4) 3-6 6-2 in a match that lasted just over two hours.

Melzer offered little resistence in his 6-4 6-0 defeat to Evgeny Korolev, who boasts a ranking of 115, while Bolelli was beaten 6-3 6-4 by upcoming Serbian Viktor Troicki.

Reigning champion Sergiy Stakhovsky avoided the same fate, although he was taken to three sets by veteran Dominik Hrbaty before overcoming his tricky opening opponent 6-2 4-6 6-1.

In the evening session Croatian duo Ivo Karlovic and Mario Ancic won through to ensure six local players progressed to the round of 16.

Third seed Karlovic cruised through with a 6-3 6-4 win against Philipp Petzschner, although it was not so easy for compatriot Ancic, the seventh seed, who despite sending down 20 aces struggled to beat Slovakian qualifier Lukas Lacko 6-4 6-7 (8/6) 7-5.

Wild-card entry Nikola Mektic was the only one of seven Croatians to lose in the first round when he was beaten 6-3 7-5 by Jan Hernych.

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