Mon May 12 12:11:02 2008

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Tsonga wins; Youzhny falls in Hamburg

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Hamburg, Germany (Sports Network) - Australian Open runner-up Jo-Wilfried Tsonga was among Monday's opening-round winners, while 10th-seeded Russian Mikhail Youzhny came up a loser at the $2.955 million Masters Series Hamburg, a clay-court French Open tuneup.

The 14th-seeded Tsonga was bageled in his opening set against fellow Frenchman Nicolas Mahut, but Tsonga fought back to pull out a 0-6, 7-6 (7-5), 6-2 victory at Rothenbaum.

Youzhny, meanwhile, was sent packing by Spaniard Fernando Verdasco 6-3, 6-2 on Day 2.

In other action involving seeds, No. 12 Argentine Juan Monaco topped Italian Filippo Volandri 6-1, 4-0 and No. 15 Brit Andy Murray mauled Russian Dmitry Tursunov 6-4, 6-1. Volandri retired due to a right knee injury.

In some other first-round play, Frenchman Michael Llodra beat Argentine Guillermo Canas 7-6 (9-7), 6-2 and Spaniard Albert Montanes dismissed American Mardy Fish 6-1, 6-3.

Additional wins came for Czech lucky-loser Ivo Minar, Italian Simone Bolelli, Argentine Juan Ignacio Chela and Belgian lucky-loser Olivier Rochus.

This week's top seed, Swiss superstar Roger Federer, beat Spanish clay-court wizard Rafael Nadal in last year's Hamburg finale. It marked Federer's fourth title here in six years (2002, 2004-05, 2007).