Oct 6, 2008 - 3:15 PM
0 shoutsMOSCOW (Ticker) -- The Kremlin Cup has been an all-or-nothing event for Nikolay Davydenko, but things have gone well recently.
The top-seeded Russian is seeking his third consecutive title at the $1 million hardcourt event, which began Monday.
Davydenko also was a champion here in 2004, but on the two occasions he hasn't triumphed, he's been ousted in the first round.
The world No. 5 and top-ranked Russian, Davydenko will attempt to avoid another first-round setback and run his winning streak here to 11 matches when he opens play against unseeded Frenchman Florent Serra.
In one of four first-round matches Monday, second-seeded Russian Igor Andreev advanced when Taipei's Yen-Hsun Lu retired after dropping the first set, 6-2.
Seeking his first ATP singles championship since winning here in 2005, Andreev will next face Frenchman Jeremy Chardy, who rallied for a 3-6, 6-1, 6-4 triumph against Italy's Potito Starace.
Veteran Frenchman Fabrice Santoro, 35, advanced with a 6-2, 6-4 win over wild card Yuri Schukin of Kazakhstan and Spaniard Guillermo Garcia-Lopez beat Nicolas Devilder of France, 6-2, 6-4, to book a potential second-round encounter with Davydenko.
The only other former champion in the draw is fourth-seeded Paul-Henri Mathieu, who will open with Ukrainian Sergiy Stakhovsky. The Frenchman took the title in 2002 and was a runner-up to Davydenko last year.
First prize is $171,000.
