NOTTINGHAM, England (AP) Former top-10 player Mikhail Youzhny won an ATP main draw opening match for only the fifth time this year at the Nottingham Open on Monday.
Youzhny beat Teymuraz Gabashvili of Ukraine 4-6, 6-3, 6-3.
Youzhny is trying to extend a 17-year pro career in which he won the last of his 10 titles in 2013. He won only nine matches on tour last year and decided to regain his confidence and form on the minor challenger tour, where he won three straight events in Southeast Asia in January to lift his ranking into the 70s.
Coming off a quarterfinal run in Stuttgart, the latest win was his sixth this season.
Other first-round winners included Evgeny Donskoy, Adrian Mannarino and Daniel Evans.