ROTTERDAM, Netherlands (AP) - Former champion Tomas Berdych beat Romanian qualifier Marius Copil 7-6 (3), 6-4 to reach the second round of the World Tennis Tournament on Monday.
Both players had 11 aces in a closely contested match where Berdych saved three break points. The fourth-seeded Czech broke the Romanian qualifier’s serve once.
Berdych, the 2014 winner, next faces Frenchman Richard Gasquet or Serbian Viktor Troicki on the indoor hard court.
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In other first-round matches, Frenchman Pierre-Hugues Herbert beat Spaniard Feliciano Lopez 7-6 (5), 7-6 (5); Dutchman Robin Haase downed Germany’s Florian Mayer 7-5, 7-6 (3), and Russian qualifier Evgeny Donskoy won against Spaniard Marcel Granollers 6-4, 6-4.
Top-seeded Marin Cilic of Croatia, who lost the 2014 final to Berdych, opens against Frenchman Benoit Paire on Tuesday.
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