Sun Oct 12 21:57:40 2008

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Stepanek, Gulbis win first-round matches in Madrid

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Madrid, Spain (Sports Network) - Czech Radek Stepanek and Latvian Ernests Gulbis were first-round winners Sunday at the Madrid Masters.

Gulbis defeated Germany's Nicolas Kiefer, 5-7, 6-4, 7-5, to earn a second- round encounter with Rafael Nadal of Spain. Nadal received the No.1 ranking trophy on Sunday. He was the 2005 champion at this tournament.

Radek Stepanek blasted Argentine Juan Monaco, 6-1, 6-1. Next up for Stepanek is second seed Roger Federer of Switzerland. Federer titled here in 2006 and lost to Argentina's David Nalbandian in the final last year.

This indoor event is the eighth Master Series tournament of the year. The field includes every player in the top 30. The first seven Masters Series tourneys have been won by four different players, led by Nadal with three championships.

The top 16 seeded players received opening-round byes.