LYON, France(AP) Fourth-seeded Juan Monaco of Argentina and No. 5 Julien Benneteau of France both advanced to the second round of the Lyon Grand Prix after winning in straight sets on Monday.
Monaco beat Josselin Ouanna 6-3, 6-2, breaking his French opponent's serve six times, while Benneteau relied on his strong first serve to beat Alberto Martin of Spain 7-6 (1), 6-1.
Benneteau has never won a career singles title and was runner-up to two-time champion Robin Soderling at the indoor carpet event last year. Benneteau hit six aces against Martin and won 82 percent of points on his first serve.
It would be great if I could go all the way and win my first title here,'' Benneteau said.I'm not the favorite, there are other players who are stronger. I wasn't too far off last year.''
Benneteau will play either Kevin Anderson of South Africa or Germany's Simon Greul in the second round.
Florent Serra of France saved all four break points he faced to beat Christophe Rochus of Belgium 6-3, 6-3 in Monday's other first-round match.