Intro:

Defending champion Gilles Simon battled back from a set down to progress to the second round of the German Open in Hamburg on Monday (16th July).

Script:

Frenchman Gilles Simon took on Argentina's Carlos Berlocq in the first round of the German Open on Monday (16th July).

The defending champion was given a real test as Berlocq won the first set 6-4, when Simon sent an angled drop wide.

The second set went to a tie-break and a powerful forehand at the net sealed it for Simon.

Simon took command in the deciding set and won it 6-1 to seal his passage to the next round in two hours and fifty-two minutes.

Dutchman Robin Haase eased into the next round, he won the first set 6-4 against German Matthias Bachinger with an ace.

Haase's big serving proved too much for Bachinger and he won the second set 6-2.

Nikolay Davydenko ended a four-match losing streak, which begun with a semi-final exit in May in Nice, after victory over Finland's Jarkko Nieminen.

The Finn won the first set 7-5 but Davydenko, a German Open winner in 2009, fought back and took the second set 6-4.

The Russian lost just one point on serve in the decisive third set and eased to a 6-0 win, to complete the match in one hour and fifty-eight minutes.