Karlovic progresses in Paris
On the Wire
Ivo Karlovic cruised into the second round of the Paris Masters on Monday after seeing off the challenge of Uruguay's Pablo Cuevas.
The giant Croatian was typically dominant on serve with Cuevas failing to gain a single break point.
Karlovic took the first set on a tie-break before completing a 7-6 (7/3) 6-4 triumph to set up a meeting with Swedish ninth seed Robin Soderling.
There was disappointment for the home crowd in Bercy as Frenchman Paul-Henri Mathieu was forced to retire from his match against Viktor Troicki when 7-6 (7/4) 3-0 down.
Andreas Seppi proved too strong for Phillip Kohlschreiber, winning 6-3 6-3, while Tomas Berdych edged out qualifier Vincent Millot 6-3 7-6 (7/4).
Another qualifier, Lukasz Kubot, fared better, however, beating Andreas Beck 6-4 3-6 6-4.
Monday night's action is headlined by Marat Safin, the former world number one who is playing in his final tournament before retirement.
Safin, a three-time winner of this tournament, meets home favourite Thierry Ascione.
