Last year's runner-up Gael Monfils was a
first-round winner Wednesday at the Bank Austria Tennis Trophy.
The third-seeded Monfils handled Spaniard Guillermo Garcia-Lopez 7-5, 6-4 on
the indoor hardcourts at Wiener Stadthalle. The French Monfils was upset by
German Philipp Petzschner in last year's Vienna finale. An inured Petzschner
withdrew from this year's event on Tuesday.
Monfils will encounter Czech Jan Hajek in a second-rounder here on Thursday.
Second-seeded Czech Radek Stepanek rolled into the quarterfinals here by
blasting Portuguese Frederico Gil 6-2, 6-3 on Day 3.
In some other second-round action, fourth-seeded German Philipp Kohlschreiber
topped Romanian Victor Crivoi 6-2, 3-0, retired and fifth-seeded Spaniard
Nicolas Almagro erased American Wayne Odesnik 6-4, 6-4. Crivoi quit with a
right shoulder injury.
In other opening-round play, Austrian favorite Daniel Koellerer clipped Finn
Jarkko Nieminen 6-1, 6-2, tough Serb Janko Tipsarevic upended eighth-seeded
6-foot-9 American John Isner 7-6 (7-4), 6-4 and Slovakian veteran Dominik
Hrbaty, a qualifier this week, humbled Spaniard Ruben Ramirez Hidalgo 6-3,
6-4.
The second round will conclude here on Thursday, including a match for top-
seeded Croat Marin Cilic.
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