Youzhny wins opener in Kremlin Cup

MOSCOW, Oct. 19 (UPI) -- Mikhail Youzhny, who at No. 3 was the highest seeded player in action Monday, was a winner over Horacio Zeballos in the opening round of the Kremlin Cup.

Youzhny has reached the finals in only two tournaments this year and one of those came last week in Japan, where he lost to Jo-Wilfried Tsonga.

In one of just four matches played Monday, Youzhny defeated Zeballos 6-1, 7-6 (7-5). He will take on Potito Starace in the second round after Starace ousted Evgeny Donskoy 6-3, 6-3.

Another second-round match was set up between Pablo Cuevas and Teimuraz Gabashvili. Cuevas was a 6-4, 6-2 winner over Yen-Hsun Lu and Gabashvili defeated Karol Beck 3-6, 6-4, 6-4.

The top seed in this event is Nikolay Davydenko, who defeated Rafael Nadal Sunday in the title match of the Shanghai Masters. Davydenko will meet unseeded Marat Safin in the first round Tuesday.