Nalbandian Saves Match Points; Raonic, Anderson Advance

© If Stockholm OpenMarcos Baghdatis dropped serve just once in his loss to Milos Raonic.

Former World No. 3 David Nalbandian saved two match points in the second set tie-break before prevailing against Belgian Xavier Malisse 4-6, 7-6(6), 7-6(3) on Tuesday at the If Stockholm Open.

Nalbandian, who won this ATP World Tour 250 tournament on his only previous visit in 2008, secured a 2-0 lead to start the third set but was unable to serve out the match at 5-4 as Malisse broke back. The Argentine claimed the victory after two hours and 41 minutes, capitalising on his first of three match points in the tie-break.

Canadian Milos Raonic also came through in a hard-fought first-round battle, edging Marcos Baghdatis 7-6(5), 6-7(4), 6-4 in a match that featured just one break of serve. The sixth-seeded Raonic fired 22 aces during the two-hour, 22-minute match.

Raonic, who won the indoor hard-court title in February at San Jose, next goes on to face German Philipp Petzschner for a place in the quarter-finals.  

Fifth-seeded South African Kevin Anderson set up a second round clash against German veteran Tommy Haas after edging past Guillermo Garcia-Lopez of Spain 7-6(1), 7-6(4).

Anderson, who is enjoying a career-best season, converted three of his 13 break point opportunities and hit nine aces for victory in two hours and nine minutes. The World No. 31 won his hometown title, the SA Tennis Open in Johannesburg (d. Devvarman), in February. He has a 36-23 match record on the year.

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World No. 109 Tobias Kamke notched his 14th tour-level win of the season as he ousted eighth seed Tommy Robredo 6-2, 6-3. The German won 86 per cent of points behind his first serve and converted four of his seven break point opportunities for victory in 62 minutes.

The No. 48-ranked Robredo dropped to a 20-11 match record on a season plagued by injury for the past seven months. He has not reached an ATP World Tour quarter-final since March at the BNP Paribas Open in Indian Wells. The 25-year-old Kamke, a semi-finalist at the Campbell’s Hall of Fame Tennis Championships in Newport in July (l. to Isner), goes on to face either Michael Ryderstedt or Sebastian Rieschick.

Two-time former champion James Blake improved to a 16-2 record in Stockholm after he defeated 2009 runner-up Olivier Rochus 7-6(6), 6-3 in 85 minutes. World No. 72 Blake dropped seven points on his first service and hit 17 aces for his 14th tour-level win of the season. He goes onto meet second-seeded Argentinean Juan Martin del Potro.

Finland's Jarkko Nieminen withstood 10 aces and saved three break points as he edged Romanian qualifier Marius Copil 6-3, 7-6(4) in 88 minutes. The 30-year-old Nieminen reached his first ATP World Tour final in Stockholm 10 years ago, finishing runner-up to Sjeng Schalken, and also missed out in the 2006 final (l. to Blake). He goes on to face third-seeded Swiss Stanislas Wawrinka.