Nalbandian advances at Stockholm Open

Oct 7, 2008 - 8:13 PM STOCKHOLM, Sweden (Ticker) -- So far, so good for David Nalbandian at the Stockholm Open.

The top-seeded Argentine advanced to the second round of the hardcourt event Tuesday with a 6-1, 6-1 win over Bobby Reynolds.

Nalbandian is a strong favorite here considering he is the only top-30 player in the field.

However, the world No. 7 has endured his share of upsets this season with nine of his 13 losses coming against players ranked outside the top 25.

Among those setbacks was an opening-round defeat to 139th-ranked Frank Dancevic at Wimbledon and a second-round loss in Miami at the hands of then-No. 311 Xavier Malisse.

The 26-year-old was in form against the 82nd-ranked Reynolds, however, converting 19-of-21 first- serve points en route to dismissing the American in just 56 minutes.

Nalbandian will try to stay on course for his ninth career title when he faces Swedish wild card Joachim Johansson in the second round.

Second-seeded Mario Ancic of Croatia also won in straight sets, claiming a 7-6 (8-6), 6-2 victory over Belgium's Olivier Rochus.

Another Belgian is up next for Ancic, as Steve Darcis rallied for a 2-6, 6-3, 6-3 win over Christophe Rochus - the older brother of Olivier.

The perfect day for seeded players was capped with victories by No. 6 Jose Acasuso of Argentina and No. 5 Rainer Schuettler of Germany.

First prize is $156,000.