Spaniards David Ferrer and Nicolas Almagro each won their first match of the year in the second round of the Heineken Open on Wednesday.
The top-seeded Ferrer needed more than 2-1/2 hours to beat Tobias Kamke of Germany 3-6, 7-6 (1), 6-4, and the second-seeded Almagro also was tested in a 6-4, 7-6 (2) victory over Victor Hanescu of Romania in 93 minutes.
Ferrer, who had a bye in the first round, next plays No. 8 seed Philipp Kohlschreiber. Almagro will face either wild card Arnaud Clement or qualifier Adrian Mannarino.
"He played a very good game," Ferrer said of Kamke. "I fought a lot. Maybe I was lacking on my first serve but I'm very happy to come back here and win my first game.
"It's not easy in the first match of the year and this match is good for my confidence."
Kamke took the first set in 35 minutes with the only service break in the sixth game. The second set was on serve – though both players were pressed at times – until the tiebreaker, when Ferrer allowed Kamke only a single point.
Ferrer broke in the ninth game of the final set and closed out the match with his seventh ace.
Earlier, Almagro won the toss and elected to receive, putting immediate pressure on Hanescu's serve and gaining the only break of the first set.
Almagro continued to look strong into the second set, showing off an improved serve that produced five aces in his first five service games. After a brief lull, he picked up his intensity again in the tiebreaker.
"Every match is important but the first one of the year is much more important than others and I played very good all the match," Almagro said. "The first set was one of my best sets for a long time."
No. 6 seed David Nalbandian, No. 7 seed Tomaz Bellucci and Kohlschreiber also advanced, but fourth-seeded Alberto Montanes lost 6-3, 4-6, 6-4 to Santiago Giraldo of Colombia.
Former world No. 3 Nalbandian was impressive, needing only 63 minutes to beat Philipp Petzschner of Germany 6-3, 6-2.
"Today I played great tennis, much better than my first match," Nalbandian said.
