China Open—Beijing, China

No. 2 seed Novak Djokovic won his first match on tour since losing in the semifinals of the US Open to Roger Federer, defeating Victor Hanescu 6-3, 7-5.

Djokovic extended his career head-to-head mark over Hanescu to 3-0, dismissing his taller opponent in one hour and 29 minutes. 

The Serbian used 10 aces and won 68 percent of his first serve points to advance in straight sets. Djokovic did encounter some serving difficulties on Monday, surrendering his serve on three occasions, while winning 50 percent of his second serve points. 

Djokovic recorded his tour-leading 59th match win of the year on Monday and will now head into the second round to take on either Fabio Fognini or countryman Viktor Troicki. 

Troicki is still en route to China after reaching the finals of Bangkok last week (l. Gilles Simon).

Djokovic was pleased to get through his first match but was aware that his level will need to improve. 

“I was happy overall with the way I played. It’s just that I thought I could finish the job earlier. It was a little bit frustrating the way I was losing some points in the second set,” Djokovic said.

“That’s the first round. You have to get used to the ups and downs a little bit, and hopefully the next match will be more consistent and I’ll be able to play my best.”

Elsewhere, No. 8 Marin Cilic blew past Igor Andreev 6-4, 6-4 in one hour and 23 minutes. 

Cilic, who received a wild card into the event because he had entered late, used two aces, three breaks of serve, and won 73 percent of his total service points to advance to the second round.

Cilic will be aiming for his third title of the season this week after claiming the title in his native Zagreb earlier this year, as well as Chennai, India.

Cilic will now face Julien Benneteau in the second round after the Frenchman defeated Marcos Daniel 6-3, 6-4.

German workhorse Phillip Kohlschreiber withstood 27 aces from Ivo Karlovic, ousting the Croatian 7-6 (6), 4-6, 6-1.

The one-hour, 54-minute victory by the German required precise serving to Karlovic's backhand, while using the sheer pace of the Croatian's serve to combat his 140 mph missiles. 

Kohlschreiber will await the winner of recent Kuala Lumpur champ Nikolay Davydenko and Igor Kunitsyn in round two. 

Tommy Robredo progressed to the second round on Monday, easily defeating Benjamin Becker 6-2, 6-1. Robredo will face either No. 6 seed Robin Soderling or Frenchman Jeremy Chardy in the second round. 

The final match of the day will see countrymen Juan Carlos Ferrero and Nicolas Almagro battle for a chance to face either No. 5 seed Fernando Verdasco or unseeded American Robby Ginepri in the second round. 

Almagro will take a 2-0 head-to-head lead over Ferrero into their first round clash.

Tuesday's action in Beijing will feature: 

Rafael Nadal vs. Marcos Baghdatis, Marat Safin vs. Jose Acasuso, Andy Roddick vs. Lukasz Kubot, and Fernando Gonzalez vs. David Ferrer.

 

Rakuten Japan Open Tennis Championships—Tokyo, Japan

No. 4 seed Gael Monfils advanced to the second round in his debut in Japan on Monday, defeating Turkish qualifier Marsel Ilhan 6-2, 6-4.

Monfils, who won his first title of the year in Metz, France two weeks ago, hit 15 aces and won 76 percent of his first serve points to advance in straight sets. 

The 23-year-old Frenchman needed one hour and six minutes to dispatch his 160th-ranked opponent, claiming his 31st match victory of the season.

Monfils remains in contention for one of the final three spots vacant for the tour finals in London and will have to perform well over the next month in order to ensure his entry. 

With the win, Monfils will await the challenge of Marco Chiudinelli, who ousted a valiant effort from Dudi Sela, 4-6, 6-1, 6-4.

Chiudinelli has enjoyed a rise in form in recent weeks, qualifying for the US Open and making the quarterfinals in Bangkok, Thailand. He defeated Marat Safin along the way.

Elsewhere, No. 7 seed Stanislas Wawrinka won 97 percent of his first serve points to oust hard-serving American John Isner, 6-4, 6-4. 

Wawrinka, who is still is search of his first title of the season, needed one hour and 32 minutes to capture his 26th win of the year. 

Along with his strong serving prowess on Monday, Wawrinka struck eight aces and broke the serve of Isner on two occasions. 

By contrast, Isner won 65 percent of his first serve points and was not able to capitalize on his lone break point opportunity in the second set. 

Wawrinka will face Simon Greul in the second round after the German defeated Martin Vassallo Arguello, 4-6, 6-4, 6-2 earlier on Monday. 

Tuesday's action in Tokyo will feature:

Top seed Juan Martin del Potro vs. Edouard Roger-Vasselin, Lleyton Hewitt vs. Tatsuma Ito, Tomas Berdych vs. Go Soedo, and Gilles Simon vs. Takao Suzuki.

Please check back on Tuesday for continuing daily reports from Beijing, China, and Tokyo, Japan. Cheers.