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Lopez no match for Davydenko in Rotterdam

Gael Monfils was made to work hard by Olivier Rochus in Rotterdam © Getty Images

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Nikolay Davydenko has lost just one match this season, to the imposing figure of Roger Federer in the Australian Open, and that statistic never looked in danger of being changed as he shrugged aside the challenge of Feliciano Lopez 6-4 6-2 in the ABN AMRO Indoor Tournament in Rotterdam.

The Russian No. 2 seed was pushed hard in the opening set, but secured the vital break on his only break point. He worked his rival around the court from the baseline in the second set and it proved too much for his Spanish opponent who was broken twice as Davydenko wrapped up the match in an hour and 16 minutes.

Gael Monfils recovered from the shock of losing the first set to ease into the second round with a 4-6 6-1 6-2 win over Olivier Rochus.

The Frenchman, No. 4 seed, saw his serve broken twice in the opening set, but he upped his level thereafter and lost just three further games. Monfils raced through the second set, powering down nine aces, and he was just as impressive in the third as he closed out the match in an hour and 44 minutes.

Monfils will now face Thiemo de Bakker in round two after he overcame Jan Hajek in the previous round.

Marcos Baghdatis looked in formidable form on Wednesday as he swept aside the usually dogged threat of James Blake. Baghdatis needed just 67 minutes to dispose of Blake 6-4 6-2, taking the first of three match points on his own serve to advance in the competition.

Michael Berrer demonstrated the greater staying power in his match with Arnaud Clement to claim a 7-6 4-6 6-4 win. The first set went to a tie-break and proved to be an epic affair, as Berrer secured it 20-18. Clement bounced back in the second and took the set 6-4, with his efforts built on the back of some excellent service returns. The match seemed destined for another tie-break but Berrer secured a vital second break of serve in the tenth game to seal victory in two hours and 40 minutes.

Unfortunately, Viktor Troicki's challenge was brought to abrupt end in Rotterdam as injury curtailed his involvement against Jurgen Melzer. Troicki had been heading for defeat at a set and 3-0 down before he called a halt to proceedings.

Robin Soderling made his way into round three with a 7-6 6-2 win over Igor Sijsling. The Swedish No. 3 seed was taken to a first-set tie-break but cut loose in the second and converted two of his six break points to seal the win.

Soderling is joined in the third round by Florian Mayer, who won a hugely entertaining three-set contest against Tommy Robredo of Spain. Mayer edged his opponent by two breaks to one in a match that saw 12 break opportunities in total, and that was enough for the German to triumph 6-4 3-6 6-3.

In the SAP Open in San Jose, top seed and four-time winner Andy Roddick was in action and he safely progressed to the second round with a 6-1 7-6 victory over Ryler Deheart. It was all one way traffic in the first set but Deheart found his service range in the second, sending down four aces and matching Roddick in the first serve stats before crumbling in the tie-break to lose 7-1.

Should Roddick get past Leonardo Mayer to reach the quarters, Tomas Berdych will be there waiting for him after the Czech strolled past Jarkko Nieminen 6-3 6-2 in the second round. Sixth-seed Philipp Kohlschreiber is also in the last eight thanks to an easy straight sets 6-2 6-0 win against Dudi Sela.

Third seed Radek Stepanek was the big casualty of the day as he fell in the first round to Xavier Malisse. Stepanek looked rusty around the court in an extremely uninspiring display as Malisse, who reached the semi-finals at Wimbledon in 2002, triumphed comfortably 6-3 6-4.

Tommy Haas made a premature exit at the hands of Denis Istomin, losing 7-6 6-2. The first set stayed on serve all the way but Istomin stepped it up in the second, offering no break point opportunities to the German star to move comfortably to the quarter-finals. Philipp Kohlschreiber is already into round three after he needed less than an hour to beat Dudi Sela. The number six seed was never tested during an easy 6-2 6-0 victory.

There were no such troubles for world No.12 Fernando Verdasco, although the second seed had to overcome stern resistance from Chinese Taipei's Yen-Hsun Lu on his way to a 6-3 6-7 6-3 triumph in which he served 14 aces.

Meanwhile, at the Brasil Open, top seed Juan Carlos Ferrero dropped his first set of the tournament but never looked like losing the match as he beat Chile's 6-2 5-7 6-2. The 2007 finalist here will now meet Carlos Berlocq in the quarters, after the qualifier sprung a surprise 7-6 6-2 win over fellow Argentine Juan Ignacio Chela.

Igor Andreev was made to work harder than he would have liked for victory over Rui MacHado. Andreev only managed to get 55% of first serves in as he churned out four double faults, eventually winning 6-3 5-7 6-4.

The Russian's last-eight opponent is fellow seed Pablo Cuevas. The sixth-seed was stretched all the way by Frederico Gil in the tightest of matches, but held his nerve in the deciding tie-break to win 7-6 4-6 7-6(3).

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