Paris, France – French favorites Gilles Simon and Julien Benneteau were among Monday's first-round winners at the $3.15 million BNP Paribas Masters, the final Masters 1000 tournament of the year.
The former top-10 star and currently 20th-ranked Simon topped former Australian Open runner-up Marcos Baghdatis 7-5, 6-1, while Benneteau got past Serb Viktor Troicki 6-4, 7-5 on the indoor hardcourts at Bercy's Palais Omnisports.
Meanwhile, rising Frenchman Benoit Paire, a wild card this week, bested Spaniard Pablo Andujar 6-3, 6-4, Albert Ramos doused fellow Spaniard Feliciano Lopez 7-6 (7-5), 6-4, South African slugger Kevin Anderson whipped Brazilian Thomaz Bellucci 6-2, 6-1, and Italian Andreas Seppi got past Slovak Martin Klizan 6-2, 2-6, 7-6 (7-5).
Additional opening-round wins came for Polish qualifier Jerzy Janowicz, Argentine Carlos Berlocq, Spaniard Marcel Granollers, and Colombian qualifier Alejandro Falla.
This week's top seeds are No. 2 seed and 2009 champion Novak Djokovic and Andy Murray. The original top seed was Roger Federer, who pulled out of the event on Sunday after losing to Juan Martin del Potro in the final at the Swiss Indoors Basel. Del Potro is seeded seventh this week.
Federer defeated 2008 titlist Jo-Wilfried Tsonga in last year's Paris Masters finale.
The newest champion here will pocket $620,000.
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