John Isner relied on his strong serve to beat French qualifier Kenny De Schepper 7-6 (4), 7-6 (5) in the opening round of the Erste Bank Open Tuesday. The third-seeded American hit 16 aces and avoided break points, but failed to convert four chances on De Schepper's serve. Isner missed a match point at 6-5 but closed out the win on his second chance in the tiebreaker. The 13th-ranked Isner will next play Ernests Gulbis of Latvia. Also, Paolo Lorenzi of Italy advanced to the second round after rallying to defeat Rajeev Ram of the United States 6-7 (4), 6-1, 6-4. Ram hit 16 aces but lost his serve four times. Sergiy Stakhovsky of the Ukraine beat Germany's Jan-Lennard Struff 6-4, 6-4. In addition to Ferrer and Isner, two more London contenders are trying to add points in Vienna this week plus two more remaining in the ATP regular season. Shanghai finalist Jo-Wilfried Tsonga will make his start Wednesday in the first round against 37-year-old wild card Tommy Haas while South African Kevin Anderson also begins play. Sara Errani through In Luxembourg, third-seeded Sara Errani of Italy advanced to the second round of the Luxembourg Open by beating Julie Coin of France 5-7, 6-4, 6-1 Tuesday. Also, seventh-seeded Barbora Strycova of the Czech Republic defeated Yanina Wickmayer of Belgium 6-4, 6-2, Denisa Allertova of the Czech Republic beat Jana Cepelova of Slovakia 6-3, 4-6, 6-1, and Johanna Larsson of Sweden defeated Andreea Mitu of Romania 7-6 (5), 6-7 (3), 6-3. Timea Bacsinszky of Switzerland, ranked 10th in the world, is the top-seeded player at the tournament. — Agencies
