Davydenko beaten in Stuttgart

Stuttgart - Dustin Brown of Germany saved a match point to upset sixth-seeded Nikolay Davydenko of Russia 7-5, 3-6, 7-6 (9/7) in the first round of the Mercedes Cup on Monday.

Brown, who has received a wildcard invitation to play in the Stuttgart tournament, broke his opponent early in the third set, but allowed Davydenko to fight back. The Russian had a match point but was eventually overcome by the German.

Brown led 5-2 in the tie-breaker before wasting a match point and allowed Davydenko to level at 6-6. The Russian's ninth double-fault gave Brown his third match point as he served out the match.

Also on Monday, Guillermo Garcia-Lopez swept past fellow Spaniard Ruben Ramirez Hidalgo 6-2, 6-3.

Results from the first day of the ATP tournament on Monday (x denotes seeding):

First round:

Steve Darcis (BEL) bt Albert Montanes (ESP) 6-2, 6-4
Dustin Brown (GER) bt Nikolay Davydenko (RUS x6) 7-5, 3-6, 7-6 (9/7)
Guillermo Garcia-Lopez (ESP) bt Ruben Ramirez Hidalgo (ESP) 6-2, 6-3