Fernando Verdasco and Gael Monfils swept into the second round of the SAP Open with straight sets victories on Wednesday.
Spain’s Verdasco beat American Rajeev Ram 6-3, 6-2 in only an hour while Monfils recorded exactly the same scoreline in defeating another American, Bradley Klahn in a mismatch between players ranked 12th and 792nd in the world.
Verdasco meets Croatia’s Ivo Karlovic in the second round. Karlovic, who was a semifinalist here four years ago, topped American Ryan Sweeting 6-4, 604.
“He is one of the most difficult players to play against,” Verdasco said. “Maybe he won’t serve so well and I’ll win the match but I can’t count on that.”
The defending champion in the event, Verdasco recorded eight aces and won 88 per cent of his first service points. Karlovic is out of the top 100 for the first time since 2007.
“I need to serve well because he doesn’t give you many chances with his serve,” Verdasco said. “I’ll try to return what I can.”
