Bogomolov Beats Qualifier; Muller Hits 19 Aces In Opening Win

Fifth-seeded American Alex Bogomolov Jr. made a winning start on his Kremlin Cup debut Tuesday with a 3-6, 6-3, 6-4 victory over Serbian qualifier Dusan Lajovic.

The World No. 37 goes onto face Kazakhstani Mikhail Kukushkin in the second round. The 28-year-old American plays at the ATP World Tour 250 tournament at a career-high No. 37 in the South African Airways 2011 ATP Rankings, with a 21-17 match record on the season. His best result this year came at the Farmers Classic in Los Angeles, when he lost to Ernests Gulbis in the semi-finals.

Russian Dmitry Tursunov, the No. 6 seed, won 86 per cent of his first serve points and capitalised on three break points in a 7-6(5), 6-4 win over Spaniard Albert Ramos. The Moscow native is making his fifth appearance at his hometown tournament; he achieved his best result on his tournament debut in 2005, reaching the semi-finals.

Seventh seed Gilles Muller served up 19 aces as he dismissed Russian qualifier Konstantin Kravchuk 7-6(5), 6-4. The Luxembourg player converted his only break point opportunity and saved the three he faced on serve to prevail in 90 minutes. The 28-year-old Muller improved to a 17-9 match record on the season, highlighted by semi-final runs at the Atlanta Tennis Championships (l. to Isner) in July and at last month’s Moselle Open in Metz (l. to Ljubicic).

For a place in the quarter-finals, the No. 50-ranked Muller will face Germany’s Philipp Kohlschreiber, who defeated Argentina’s Carlos Berlocq 7-5, 6-3 in 90 minutes having broken serve four times from six opportunities. The 28-year-old Kohlschreiber reached the last eight at this ATP World Tour 250 indoor hard-court tournament on his past two appearances in 2006 (l. to Santoro) and 2007 (l. to Berrer). 

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French qualifier Jeremy Chardy will meet third seed Alexandr Dolgopolov of the Ukraine in the second round after he hit 23 aces past Italian Potito Starace 6-3, 6-7(5), 7-6(2). Chardy won 77 per cent of his service points compared to 71 per cent to Starace, who hit nine aces.