Frank Dancevic is on a roll.
The Canadian used precision serves to defeat towering Argentine teenager Juan Martin del Potro 6-4, 3-6, 6-3 and continue his recent strong play Monday night at the Rogers Cup in Montreal.
The native of Niagara Falls, Ont., — a wild-card entry — now faces a second-round match with Wayne Odesnik. The American qualifier, ranked 182nd in the world, upset 11th-seeded Ivan Ljubicic of Croatia 6-3, 4-6, 7-6 (5) on Monday.
Dancevic, ranked 91st, had also beaten del Potro as well as American star Andy Roddick while reaching his first ATP tournament final two weeks ago in Indianapolis.
Before a thin but encouraging crowd in a late-night match at Uniprix Stadium, the 22-year-old Dancevic gave up only four points on his service while taking the opening set against the six-foot-six del Potro, the youngest player in the tournament at 18.
Del Potro served out the second set, but Dancevic broke for 3-1 in the third and didn't look back, finishing the match with an ace that required video review to confirm it was good.
"When it ended up being on the line I was pretty excited," said Dancevic. "First rounds are the toughest to get through no matter who you are, the top seed or any other player.
"My service held me through the match. I had a bit of a lapse in the second set. Two balls cost me the set. But I wasn't too concerned because I knew he wasn't really playing better than I was. So I went into the third with just as much confidence as the first."
Wild card Peter Polansky of Thornhill, Ont., didn't fare as well as Dancevic, losing to qualifier Fabio Fognini of Italy 6-3, 7-6 (7).
Philip Bester of North Vancouver fell to Frenchman Arnaud Clement 7-6 (2), 6-2 on Sunday, while Frederic Niemeyer of Cambleton, N.B., is scheduled to play a first-round match against Croatia's Mario Ancic on Tuesday night.
Haase, Mathieu score big upsetsMonday was a day of surprises in Montreal as two qualifiers scored stunning first-round upsets.
In addition to Odesnik's stunner over Ljubicic, Robin Haase of the Netherlands upended No. 10 Tomas Berdych of the Czech Republic 6-4, 7-5.
In another upset, unseeded Frenchman Paul-Henri Mathieu knocked off No. 15 Guillermo Canas of Argentina 4-6, 7-5, 6-0.
Haase, ranked 103rd in the world, broke Berdych's serve for a 6-5 lead in the second set before closing out the victory, his first over a top-10 player.
It was Haase's first career match at the Canadian tournament. The 20-year-old had to go through qualifying on the weekend to earn a spot in the main draw.
"To beat a player with the name Berdych is unbelievable. It's my best win, for sure," said Haase, who will play either Marcos Baghdatis or Carlos Moya in the second round.
In other first-round action Monday:
No. 14 Mikhail Youzhny of Russia defeated Frenchman Sebastien Grosjean 6-2, 6-4. No. 16 David Ferrer of Spain defeated Latvia's Ernests Gulbis 6-2, 6-1. Former No. 1 player Lleyton Hewitt defeated Spain's Juan Carlos Ferrero 7-6 (5), 6-4. Neither player was seeded in this tournament. Argentina's David Nalbandian defeated Colombia's Alejandro Falla 6-4, 6-3. Dominik Hrbaty of Slovakia defeated Germany's Philipp Kohlschreiber 7-6 (8), 6-4. American Michael Russell defeated Spain's Nicolas Almagro 2-6, 7-6 (3), 6-3. Stanislas Wawrinka of Switzerland defeated South Korea's Lee Hyung-Taik 6-3, 3-6, 6-1.The top eight seeds in the tournament — Roger Federer, Rafael Nadal, Novak Djokovic, Nikolay Davydenko, Andy Roddick, Fernando Gonzalez, Tommy Robredo and Richard Gasquet — each have first-round byes.
Davydenko is at the centre of an investigation into irregular betting on a match last week in Poland, but the ATP said Monday there was no question of suspending the Russian star or asking him to sit out until the investigation is complete.
The ATP is looking into a match between Davydenko and 87th-ranked Arguello of Argentina at the Poland Open. Arguello won when Davydenko withdrew in the third set with a foot injury.
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