Gasquet Claims 250th Career Win In Montreal

© Getty ImagesRichard Gasquet has his eyes set on a return to the Top 10.

Frenchman Richard Gasquet saved all five break points he faced Tuesday in a 6-3, 6-2 win over German Florian Mayer to reach the second round of the Rogers Cup, an ATP World Tour Masters 1000 event, in Montreal.  After claiming his 250th career victory, No. 10-seeded Gasquet will next play Brazilian Thomaz Bellucci.

A Toronto finalist in 2006, Gasquet has regained some of his best form this season, rising from No. 30 in the South African Airways ATP Rankings at the beginning of the season to his current mark of No. 13.

Addressing his surge in the rankings, Gasquet said, "I went through a period when I was losing matches, but I still practised a lot. Little by little I started playing better and winning matches. The victories added up and I became more and more confident."

American qualifier Michael Russell upset gritty Spaniard Albert Montanes 7-5, 6-2. At 33, Russell’s 11th match win of the year matches his best season haul, achieved last year. He has now made the second round or better in the first four weeks of the Olympus US Open Series. Four years ago in Montreal he also came through qualifying to reach the second round.

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German Philipp Petzschner, who found himself in the unfamiliar position of having to win through qualifying to make the main draw, continued his strong run in Montreal by upsetting ninth-seeded Frenchman Gilles Simon 7-5, 6-2. Petzschner reached the Halle final two months ago but had suffered four consecutive first-round losses since, slipping to No. 80. The 27 year old, who claimed his 20th win on the season for the second consecutive year, saved seven of eight break points he faced.

Simon said that neck stiffness kept him below his best today. "I did the best I could, which was not much today. My neck got stiff during practice and I was not able to play as I wanted... I was afraid to hit. I was afraid that the pain would come. I will try to get ready for Cincinnati. If the pain goes away, it will be fine, otherwise I'll have to wait for the US Open."

Canadian Vasek Pospisil celebrated his first ATP World Tour main draw victory in front of his home crowd, rallying from down 2-4 in the final set to defeat Argentine Juan Ignacio Chela 4-6, 6-3, 6-4 in two hours and 23 minutes. The 21 year old admitted the prospect of facing Roger Federer in the second round provided an extra boost.

"If anything, it helped me, to be honest," he said. "A little bit extra motivation, as if I need more motivation to win here. But because he's been an idol since I was a little kid, I felt like I had a good chance to win today, so I really wanted to come through. So I was able to dig deep. With that for sure in the back of my mind, it probably helped me."