TORONTO (CP) _ Tommy Haas defeated Max Mirnyi in first-round action Tuesday at the Rogers Cup men's tennis tournament.
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Haas, the No. 16 seed at the $2.45-million US Masters Series event, needed just over an hour to dispatch the tall Belarussian 6-3, 6-3 on a warm, sunny afternoon at the Rexall Centre.
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The veteran German held serve throughout the match, winning 30 of 33 points (91 per cent) on first serve. In other early matches Tuesday, Jan Hernych of the Czech Republic defeated Nicolas Mahut of France 6-3, 6-3 and Germany's Denis Gremelmayr defeated Kristof Vliegen of Belgium 7-6 (2), 6-2. Gremelmayr entered the draw as a lucky loser when Radek Stepanek of the Czech Republic, the No. 8 seed, pulled out with a shoulder injury.
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World No. 1 and top seed Roger Federer, who won here in 2004, was scheduled to play Paul-Henri Mathieu of France in an evening match. Second seed and defending champion Rafael Nadal of Spain was to face 2004 Olympic gold medallist Nicolas Massu of Chile later Tuesday.
© The Canadian Press, 2007