Qualifier Adrian Mannarino overpowered fifth seed Kevin Anderson with unexpected ease at the Auckland ATP tournament, eliminating the South African 6-3, 6-3 in the opening round.
In a match that went on just past the hour mark, the left-handed Frenchman impressed with a ruthless serve while having no difficulty returning Anderson's best efforts.
Service breaks in the third and ninth games gave Mannarino the first set and another break in the sixth game of the second set was enough to wrap up the match.
Mannarino will meet Guillermo Garcia-Lopez in the second round after the Spaniard rallied from a set down to beat Igor Kunitsyn of Russia 2-6, 6-4, 6-2.
In contrast to the ease of Mannarino's win, eighth-seed Philipp Kohlschreiber required three sets to defeat Swiss qualifier Stephane Bohli 6-4, 4-6, 6-4.
Kohlschreiber, ranked 42nd in the world, broke the 218th-ranked Bohli twice in the first set while losing his own serve once.
The second set went with serve until Bohli broke in the 10th game to ensure the match went to a decider.
Bohli was at 3-2 and break point in the third before Kohlschreiber rallied to save the game and break the Swiss player in the next game.
"It was a tough challenge today," said Kohlschreiber, who only arrived in New Zealand from Doha on Sunday.
"But I am happy to get through and I know that each day there is more energy coming back."
Kohlschreiber will play Ryan Harrison in the second round after the American beat compatriot Sam Querrey 6-4, 6-3.
AFP
Tags: tennis, sport, new-zealand First posted January 10, 2012 21:30:11
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