Former runner-up Paul-Henri Mathieu of France advanced to the second round of the Moselle Open on Monday with a 7-6 (2), 7-6 (3) win over Benjamin Becker of Germany.
Both players held serve throughout on the indoor hard court and Mathieu, who reached the final in 2008, justified his wild-card entry by ramping up his level when it mattered most in the tiebreakers.
The 32-year-old Mathieu will next take on the fourth-seeded Lukas Rosol, who featured in the Czech Republic's 4-1 loss to France in the Davis Cup semifinals this past weekend.
In the other first-round match played Monday, Luxemburg's Gilles Muller served 18 aces to get past Edouard Roger-Vasselin 6-1, 7-6 (6). He will face top seed Jo-Wilfried Tsonga in the next round.
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