Key Biscayne, FL – Argentina's David Nalbandian was a first- round loser Thursday at the Sony Open, a $4.169 million Masters 1000 event.
The former Wimbledon runner-up and world No. 3 Nalbandian took the first set in his match with Jarkko Nieminen, but the veteran Finn rallied for 2-6, 6-4, 6-3 win on the hardcourts at Crandon Park.
Aussie Bernard Tomic doused Frenchman Marc Gicquel 7-5, 7-6 (7-3), while Taiwan's Yen-Hsun Lu beat oft-injured American Robby Ginepri 7-5, 6-1 and Colombian Santiago Giraldo bested American Rhyne Williams 6-2, 6-4. The 20- year-old Tomic is rewarded with a second-round match against last year's Miami runner-up Andy Murray.
Former top-20 performer Viktor Troicki of Serbia handled Spaniard Pablo Andujar 6-2, 6-3, while other Day-2 wins came for Belgians Olivier Rochus and David Goffin, Brazil's Thomaz Bellucci, Croatia's Ivan Dodig, Frenchman Guillaume Rufin, Pole Lukasz Kubot, Italian Simone Bolelli, Argentine Guido Pella, Colombian Alejandro Falla, Spaniard Daniel Gimeno-Traver and Slovenia's Aljaz Bedene.
This week's top seed and two-time defending champion Novak Djokovic beat the 2009 titlist Murray in last year's finale here. The Australian Open champion Djokovic and U.S. Open titlist Murray are the top seeds at this 12- day tournament.
The winner of this prestigious tournament will claim $719,160.
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