Former champion Mikhail Youzhny of Russia came back from a break down in the deciding set to defeat Blaz Kavcic of Slovenia in the first round of the Zagreb Indoors on Tuesday.
Sixth-seeded Youzhny, the 2012 singles and doubles champ, was 4-3 down facing Kavcic on serve, and rallied to win 6-3, 1-6, 6-4 for his first singles victory this year. He lost in the opening rounds in Doha and the Australian Open.
"It was up and down for me, I made too many mistakes in the second set, but finally found the way," said Youzhny, who won his last match in Moscow last year. "Yes, it has been a while since I've won a match, but I haven't played that many tournaments since then (Moscow.)"
Seventh-seeded Viktor Troicki fought hard to defeat Ukrainian qualifier Ilya Marchenko 4-6, 7-6 (3), 7-6 (3). A semifinalist here in 2009, Troicki wasted a match point at 5-4.
"It happens sometimes," he said. "I even served very solid in that game, but he responded with some great returns."
Damir Dzumhur of Bosnia and Herzegovina, and Go Soeda of Japan also advanced.
