Open de Moselle starts off in France – Tennis News
Hot on the heels of the U.S. Open, this week in Metz, France, the Open de Moselle started and Jarkko Nieminen of Finland and Xavier Malisse of Belgium opened with straight-set wins in the first round Tuesday.
Malisse downed French qualifier Edouard Roger-Vasselin 7-6 (3), 6-4 and Nieminen beat Benjamin Becker of Germany 6-3, 7-6 (2). Kristof Vliegen of Belgium or Federico Del Bonis, who replaced the injured Michael Llodra in the draw, will face Nieminen, next.
A finalist at the 2009 tournament, Philipp Kohlschreiber of Germany, was scheduled to play Italian qualifier Thomas Fabbiano late Tuesday.
Last weekend, Llodra suffered a leg injury while playing for France in a 5-0 win over Argentina in the Davis Cup semifinals, tournament organizers said he withdrew from the tournament.
Also, Tuesday, in an all-French match, Paul-Henri Mathieu beat Adrian Mannarino 6-3, 6-3. Losing the first five games, Mannarino got off to a disastrous start, and then lost his first serving game in the second set.
Mathieu will face fourth-seeded Richard Gasquet. Two years ago, Mathieu was runner-up.
German qualifier Mischa Zverev, who defeated Horacio Zeballos of Argentina 6-3, 6-2 in 55 minutes, will open against defending champion Gael Monfils.
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