Intro:

Wins for defending champion Juan Martin Del Potro, Richard Gasquet and Tommy Haas on Wednesday in the first round of the World Tennis Tournament in Rotterdam.

Script:

Top-seeded Juan Martin del Potro beat Gael Monfils of France 7-6 (6), 6-3 to advance to the second round of the World Tennis Tournament in Rotterdam on Wednesday.

Del Potro, the defending champion, had difficulty with his service games in the first set, while Monfils served up 5 aces to zero. Monfils was also the first to score a mini-break in the tiebreaker, but then double-faulted and allowed Del Potro to reassert control.

In the second set, the Argentine was dominant, breaking Monfils' serve in the fourth game. From there the 25-year-old strolled to victory.

Elsewhere, their were wins for Richard Gasquet and Tommy Haas in their first round matches against Thiemo De Bakker and Fernando Verdasco, respectively.

Gasquet, narrowly lost the first set in the tie break, before taking the second and third sets to ensure his path into the next round.

In similar fashion, Spaniard Verdasco took the first set, again in the tie break, but Haas responded well and booked his place in the second round after two closely-fought second and third sets.