Frenchman Sebastien Grosjean is one win away from the main draw of the Western & Southern Financial Group Masters after winning his opening qualifying match Saturday.
Grosjean, a two-time Wimbledon semifinalist and the 2001 Paris Masters champion, blunted the serve of big South African Wesley Moodie in a 6-1, 3-6, 6-4 victory, in which he saved three of the four break points he faced.
The 29-year-old Boca Raton resident next plays fellow Frenchman Julien Benneteau, who won 81 percent of first serve points in a 7-6(1), 6-2 win over Ecaudor's Nicolas Lapentti.
Emerging Argentine star Juan Martin del Potro stunned Russian Evyengy Korolev 6-2, 6-0, dropping just six points on serve for the match. Del Potro on Sunday faces Latvia's Ernests Gulbis, a 6-4, 7-5 winner over Frenchman Gilles Simon, the highest-ranked player in qualifying.
American veteran Vince Spadea saved the lone break point he faced in a 6-4, 6-3 win over countryman Rajeev Ram. He next meets Romanian veteran Andrei Pavel, a 6-7(4), 6-3, 7-6(7) win over Frenchman Florent Serra.
The qualifier is a 28-man draw, with the seven players who win two matches proceeding to the main draw. All qualifier matches will be scheduled for Saturday, August 11 & Sunday, August 12.
Karlovic Elevated into Main Draw
