• Madrid Masters

Monfils gets his clay season off to winning start

ESPN staff
May 10, 2010
Gael Monfils received a stern examination © Getty Images
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Gael Monfils got his clay-court season off to a winning start by defeating fellow Frenchman Stephane Robert 6-2 7-5 in the first round of the Madrid Masters.

No. 12 seed Monfils, who has not played since losing in the second round at the BNP Paribas Open in March, received a stern examination in his comeback match.

After breezing through the opening set, Monfils was forced to launch a fightback in the second after Robert raced into an early lead.

The world No. 64 was unable to hold onto the advantage as Monfils overhauled his opponent's lead to claim a second-round berth. Robert has now exited at the opening-round stage at each of his last four tournaments.

"To be out and come back and play well is very hard, so I'm very happy," Monfils told Sky Sports after the match. "It's my first tournament, I don't have much confidence, but it's good to be back on the court."

Elswhere in the first round, there were wins for precocious 21-year-old Oleksandr Dolgopolov Jnr - who faces Rafael Nadal next - and Jurgen Melzer, while Philipp Kohlschreiber's involvement in the tournament was ended by qualifier Santiago Giraldo, who recovered from a dismal first-set showing to claim a 1-6 6-2 6-3 victory.

1998 French Open champion Carlos Moya offered little of his old magic as he lost 6-0 6-2 to Germany's Benjamin Becker. Nicolas Almagro survived a second-set fightback from Viktor Troicki as he powered into the second round with a 6-1 7-6(3) win.

There were also wins for Feliciano Lopez and Leonardo Mayer, who upset the odds to beat Frenchman Julien Benneteau.

© ESPN Sports Media Ltd.
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