STUTTGART, Germany – Dustin Brown of Germany saved a match point to upset sixth-seeded Russian Nikolay Davydenko 7-5, 3-6, 7-6 (7) in the first round of the Mercedes Cup on Monday.
Brown, who received a wild card invitation to play in the tournament, broke his opponent early in the third set, but allowed Davydenko to fight back. The Russian earned a match point on his serve but was eventually overcome by the German.
Brown led 5-2 in the tiebreaker before wasting a match point and allowed Davydenko to even the set at 6-6. The Russian's ninth double-fault gave Brown his third match point before he served out the match.
Also Monday, Guillermo Garcia-Lopez swept past fellow Spaniard Ruben Ramirez Hidalgo 6-2, 6-3.
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