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Second-seeded American James Blake (pictured) enjoyed a comfortable start to his 2008 grass court campaign as he eased into the second round of the Gerry Weber Open in Halle with a 6-4, 6-1 victory over German qualifier Bjorn Phau on Tuesday.

World No. 7 Blake, who has the seventh best record on the ATP circuit this season with 28 match wins, fired eight aces and converted all four of his break point chances to secure the victory in just 50 minutes.

The 28-year-old Blake, who was a quarterfinalist (l. to Kohlschreiber) on his debut in Halle last year, has reached the quarterfinals or better at seven events this season, including finishing as runner-up at Delray Beach (l. to Nishikori) and Houston (l. to Granollers). In contrast, the 28-year-old Phau was contesting his first ATP main draw since reaching the second round in Mumbai (l. to Koubek) last September. He slips to a 1-8 lifetime record against Top 10 players.

Fourth-seeded Russian Mikhail Youzhny also advanced to the second round, recording a 6-3, 6-1 victory over compatriot Dmitry Tursunov. Youzhny was dominant on serve, winning 71% of the points, and was able to take his chances on Tursunov’s serve, converting four of nine break points in wrapping up victory after 1hr., 6 min.

World No. 18 Youzhny enjoyed a strong start to the season, capturing his fourth ATP title in Chennai (d. Nadal) and reaching the quarterfinals at the Australian Open (l. to Tsonga). The 26-year-old from Moscow is making his seventh appearance in Halle and has reached the quarterfinals or better on three occasions. World No. 29 Tursunov, who captured the Sydney title at the start of the season (d. Guccione), was making his debut in Halle.

Youzhny next faces home favorite Nicolas Kiefer, who battled through in three sets against Robin Haase 4-6 6-3 6-2. The 30-year-old Kiefer, who is now No. 38 in the South African Airways ATP Rankings after suffering with a left wrist injury and falling off the rankings last June, is a former champion in Halle; he captured the title in 1999 (d. Kulti) and also finished as runner-up in 2002 and 2003.

Fifth-seeded and last year's finalist Marcos Baghdatis won his first ATP match since March in Indian Wells as he defeated Czech qualifier Jan Hernych 6-4, 7-5.

The 22-year-old Cypriot improved to 10-7 on the season and he will next face Fabrice Santoro, a 7-6(4), 6-4 winner over Rainer Schuettler.

Baghdatis converted two of three break points while never facing a break point on his serve in the 73 minute match. Baghdatis won 85% of first serve points (23 of 27) compared to Hernych's 68%. This is the first ATP tournament Baghdatis is playing under new coach Peter Lundgren.

Eighth-seeded Croatian Ivan Ljubicic suffered a surprise first round exit at the hands of Frenchman Michael Llodra. Llodra served 20 aces, one more than Ljubicic, to recover from a set down to win 6-7(6), 7-6(5), 7-5. World No. 27 Ljubicic, who was the runner-up at Zagreb earlier in the season, now drops to 16-12.

World No. 35 Llodra, who last week reached the fourth round at Roland Garros (l. to Gulbis), has won two ATP titles in 2008. In the first week of the season he defeated Jarkko Nieminen to win the Adelaide title before clinching his third career title at Rotterdam (d. Soderling). He goes on to face Steve Darcis, who knocked out Olivier Rochus 6-1, 6-4.

Sixth-seeded Czech Radek Stepanek was also upset, falling to German Tommy Haas 6-7(0), 7-6(3), 6-4. World No. 37 Haas, who is contesting his first event since retiring against Olivier Rochus in the first round at ATP Masters Series Monte Carlo, is making his ninth appearance in Halle and has reached the semifinals on his past two visits in 2005 and 2006. No. 16 Stepanek, who was runner-up at San Jose (l. to Roddick) earlier in the season, slips to 22-11.

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Monday: Defending Champion Berdych Advances; Nieminen Falls