Alex Bogomolov Jr beat wildcard Dino Marcan 6-3 6-1 to advance to the second round of the Zagreb Indoors on Tuesday.
Russian too hot for wildcard Marcan in Zagreb
Russian second-seed Alex Bogomolov Jr beat wildcard Dino Marcan 6-3 6-1 to advance to the second round of the Zagreb Indoors on Tuesday.
Bogomolov, a quarter-finalist in Zagreb last year, was untroubled by Croatian oppoenent Marcan, who was making his debut on the ATP Tour.
In November, Bogomolov decided to play for the country of his birth, Russia, rather than the United States, where he has lived and trained since 1992.
Another Russian, third-seeded Mikhail Youzhny, also advanced to the second round after defeating 2008 champion Sergiy Stakhovsky of Ukraine 6-4 7-6 (7/4).
Youzhny wasted two match points at 5-4, allowing Stakhovsky to break and force a tie-breaker, but he eventually dug deep to progress.
Sixth-seeded Marcos Baghdatis from Cyprus rallied to beat Lukas Rosol from Czech Republic 4-6 6-3 6-3. Baghdatis wasted a 4-0 lead in the first set, and saved three break point at the start of the second.
Eighth-seeded Croat Ivo Karlovic, known for his hard serve, hit two aces less than his opponent Blaz Kavcic from Slovenia but still won in two sets 7-6 (7/2) 6-3.
Poland's Lukasz Kubot defeated Matteo Viola from Italy 6-2 6-1, while two-time finalist Michael Berrer of Germany ousted Marco Chiudinelli from Switzerland 7-6 (7/3) 6-1. Berrer next faces top-seeded Croat Ivan Ljubicic.
Also on Tuesday, Austrian Jurgen Melzer easily advanced against Philipp Petzschner of Germany 6-1 6-3.
