Mercedes Cup 2017: Gilles Simon, Viktor Troicki Upset During Tuesday's Play

The 2017 Mercedes Cup claimed its first ranked victims on Tuesday after respective seventh and eighth seeds Gilles Simon and Viktor Troicki were eliminated by Feliciano Lopez and Benoit Paire.  

Simon struggled to gain any foothold in his meeting against Lopez and was soundly beaten 6-3, 6-3, in Stuttgart, while Paire edged his way to a similarly decisive 6-4, 6-4, victory over Troicki.

Elsewhere, German heavyweight Tommy Haas moved into the second round and will face tournament favourite Roger Federer after defeating Pierre-Hugues Herbert 6-3, 4-6, 7-5, while Bernard Tomic beat Stephane Robert to progress.

Haas won't be the only home bird in the next stage of the contest, either, and will be joined by Philipp Kohlschreiber, who advanced after Marcos Baghdatis was unable to continue their clash after losing the first set, 6-1.

Read on for a roundup of Tuesday's results from the 2017 Mercedes Cup. Visit the official Mercedes Cup website for a look at the draw in full.

Tuesday's Results

• Peter Gojowczyk bt. Nikoloz Basilashvili: 2-6, 6-3, 6-1
• Benoit Paire bt. Viktor Troicki: 6-4, 6-4
• Jerzy Janowicz bt. Andrey Kuznetsov: 6-4, 3-6, 6-3
• Feliciano Lopez bt. Gilles Simon(7): 6-3, 6-3
• Philipp Kohlschreiber bt. Marcos Baghdatis (retired): 6-1
• Tommy Haas bt. Pierre-Hugues Herbert: 6-3, 4-6, 7-5
• Bernard Tomic bt. Stephane Robert: 6-1, 5-7, 6-2
• Florian Mayer vs. Jeremy Chardy: TBD

Recap

Haas endured a hard-fought battle against Herbert to clinch his place in the second round of the Mercedes Cup, and his reward for doing so is the not-so-enviable honour of facing Federer, who has never made it to the final of this competition.

Roared on by a home crowd, Haas defeated his world-ranked No. 75 opponent in three sets to set up one particularly creaky meeting between veterans later on in the week, per the ATP:

"

#MercedesCup 2R @TommyHaas13 (39) vs @RogerFederer (35) is oldest @ATPWorldTour match since 1982 Vina del Mar R. Cano (30) d. L. Ayala (49).

— ATP Media Info (@ATPMediaInfo) June 13, 2017"

That was far from the only upset to unfold in Tuesday's first-round fray, though, as Lopez and Paire each managed to score conclusive wins over Simon and Troicki, respectively.

Eerily, Paire and Troicki's two sets played out identically, with the Serb losing set at the first and last time of asking, while the former conceded his at the penultimate hurdle before sealing a swift win, per Tennis TV:

Lopez and Simon were less predictable in their play, and although the Spaniard deserved his praise for a fine display, this was more a story of his French foe failing to simmer quite as expected.

World No. 34 Simon dropped serve three times in the opening set and didn't fare much better in the second, where Lopez put together a well-executed streak of three consecutive game wins to advance.

Tomic endured his share of shakes en route to beating Frenchman Robert 6-1, 5-7, 6-2, and things don't get much easier as No. 3 seed Tomas Berdych awaits him in the second stage.

In fact, Tomic led the second set 5-1 and was within a game of winning before, as tennis blogger Rene Denfeld pointed out, appearing to turn off completely and allow his opponent six successive games:

Fortunately for Tomic, he recovered to see out the third set in similarly convincing manner to the first, although Berdych will see gaps in concentration such as that as easy bait in the second round.

Peter Gojowczyk and Jerzy Janowicz also progressed to the second round following victories over respective first-round opponents Nikoloz Basilashvili and Andrey Kuznetsov.

The tournament came to an unhappy ending for Baghdatis, who was forced to retire through injury after only a set of his meeting with Kohlschreiber, although the match looked uneven after the German won the opener 6-1.

Kohlschreiber will face Steve Johnson in the second stage of the competition, and the American has already taken one German rival out of the running after beating Maximilian Marterer in his first-round outing.