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Verdasco, Kohlschreiber Advance In Paris

Paris, Nov 7: Fernando Verdasco of Spain rallied to beat Marin Cilic of Croatia 3-6, 6-2, 6-3 and advance to the second round of the Paris Masters on Monday.Philipp Kohlschreiber of Germany, Guillermo Garcia-Lopez of

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Paris, Nov 7: Fernando Verdasco of Spain rallied to beat Marin Cilic of Croatia 3-6, 6-2, 6-3 and advance to the second round of the Paris Masters on Monday.

Philipp Kohlschreiber of Germany, Guillermo Garcia-Lopez of Spain and Kevin Anderson of South Africa also advanced.

Cilic hit a forehand winner to take the first set but Verdasco bounced back by jumping to 3-0 leads in the second and third sets.

“It's slower than last year,” Verdasco said. “I prefer maybe a little bit more this court because it's slower and I have more time to prepare my shots.”

Verdasco is hoping to be on the Spain team for the Davis Cup final next month.

“If I play Davis Cup, then I will try to prepare and get ready for that final the best as possible,” Verdasco said. “And if I'm not, at least finish well here.”

Verdasco will next face fifth-seeded Tomas Berdych of the Czech Republic.

Earlier, Kohlschreiber defeated Mikhail Youzhny of Russia 6-4, 6-2.

The German qualifier broke to lead 4-3 in the opening set before going 4-0 up in the second.

Garcia-Lopez edged Colombian qualifier Santiago Giraldo 6-4, 1-6, 6-4 and will next play sixth-seeded Jo-Wilfried Tsonga of France.

Giraldo slammed his racket against the ground in anger after sending a backhand into the net to lose the match, despite winning 97 points compared to 94 for Garcia-Lopez.

Anderson slammed 13 aces to outlast Gilles Muller of Luxembourg 6-3, 4-6, 6-4.

The tournament is the last chance for some players to secure one of the last three remaining spots for the ATP World Tour Finals in London.