Berdych advances in ATP Monte-Carlo Masters

Paris April 18 (IANS) Czech tennis player Tomas Berdych stormed into the second round of ATP Monte-Carlo Masters defeating Russian qualifier Andrey Kuznetsov while German youngster Alexander Zverev edged past Italian veteran Andreas Seppi.

Berdych the highest ranked player in the first round lost 6-4 in the first set. However the 2015 runner-up managed to turn the table by winning the next two sets at 6-3 6-4 in a match which lasted two hours on Monday reports Xinhua news agency.

In the other match 19-year-old Zverev ranked 14th eased past Seppi 6-1 6-2.

I like playing on clay because it s the surface that I grew up on said Zverev after a brilliant play in the ATP 1000 tournament.

In an all-British match Kyle Edmund defeated Daniel Evans 7-5 6-1 to book a second-round clash with defending champions Rafael Nadal.

Second-seeded Novak Djokovic and home player Gilles Simon heated up for their singles second-round encounter in Monday s doubles first round where Djokovic and compatriot Viktor Troicki got past Simon and his partner Gilles Muller of Luxembourg 7-5 6-3.

--IANS
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