German upsets thrill fans

Hamburg - Three German players defeated higher-ranked opponents on Monday to advance to the second round of the German Open.

Qualifier Bastian Knittel beat Ivan Dodig of Croatia 6-4, 6-3 for his first tour-level victory of the year.

Wild card Tobias Kamke, the 2010 ATP Newcomer of the Year, routed Pere Riba 6-1, 6-1 and is now 2-0 against the Spaniard.

Julian Riester beat Denis Istomin of Uzbekistan 6-3, 6-4 to avenge last year's defeat in the third round in Hamburg.

Results on Monday from the German Open on clay at the Rothenbaum Tennis Club (seedings in parentheses):

Singles

First Round

Albert Ramos, Spain, def. Adrian Mannarino, France, 6-2, 6-4.
Jarkko Nieminen, Finland, def. Santiago Giraldo, Colombia, 6-4, 6-3.
Sergiy Stakhovsky, Ukraine, def. Maximo Gonzalez, Argentina, 6-2, 6-3.
Carlos Berlocq, Argentina, def. Robin Haase, Netherlands, 6-2, 6-2.
Bastian Knittel, Germany, def. Ivan Dodig, Croatia, 6-4, 6-3.
Tobias Kamke, Germany, def. Pere Riba, Spain, 6-1, 6-1.
Victor Crivoi, Romania, def. Guillermo Olaso, Spain, 6-4, 6-3.
Julian Reister, Germany, def. Denis Istomin, Uzbekistan, 6-3, 6-4.
Lukas Rosol, Czech Republic, def. Potito Starace, Italy, 7-6 (5), 6-1.