Vienna, Austria (SportsNetwork.com) - Vasek Pospisil of Canada topped Australian veteran Lleyton Hewitt to highlight first-round action Tuesday at the Erste Bank Open.
The seventh-seeded Pospisil posted a 7-6 (8-6), 6-4 victory and will next meet Dutchman Robin Haase, a 5-7, 6-2, 6-2 winner over Serbian qualifier Ilija Bozoljac.
Also Tuesday, Germany's Daniel Brands came away with a 6-4, 7-6 (7-5) win over Austria's Andreas Haider-Maurer. Brands earned a second-round date with top- seeded Jo-Wilfried Tsonga, the 2011 Vienna champion who had a first-round bye.
Austria's Dominic Thiem went the distance in a 6-4, 5-7, 6-4 victory over Daniel Gimeno-Traver of Spain, while qualifiers Ruben Bemelmans and Mirza Basic also advanced. Bemelmans needed just 65 minutes in a 6-2, 6-0 rout of Czech Jan Hajek, while Basic dumped American Michael Russell, 6-3, 6-4.
Slovakian qualifier Miloslav Mecir toppled Spain's Pablo Andujar, 6-4, 6-4. The 25-year-old son of the former ATP pro by the same name will next square off against second-seeded Tommy Haas, the 2001 Vienna winner who had a bye in the first round.
Fellow Slovakian Lukas Lacko was also a straight-set victor in his opening- round match, ousting Austrian wild card Gerald Melzer by a 7-6 (7-5), 6-1 count. Lacko will next face No. 5 seed Radek Stepanek.
The winner of this $675,000 event will earn $122,000.
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