Nikolay Davydenko made a smooth start to his latest bid to grab a place at the World Tour Finals with a 6-2 6-1 first-round win over qualifier Alejandro Falla at the Valencia Open Monday. Skip related content
A title for the Russian world number seven would go a long way to securing one of two remaining spots in London at the end of this month.
Seeded second behind Britain's Andy Murray, Davydenko broke Colombian Falla five times, losing his own serve once, and came through in just over an hour to set up a clash against Juan Monaco or Martin Vassallo Arguello at the hard court event.
World number four Murray, who has been sidelined since the U.S. Open in September with a wrist injury, plays his first-round match against Spaniard Daniel Gimeno-Traver on Tuesday.
"The wrist is fine," the Scot said on his website (www.andymurray.com). "I'm still icing it and exercising it but it's tough to do too much about it specifically.
"I've played two matches in nine weeks, so I wouldn't be surprised if I play poorly at first, but I will try my best."
Frenchmen Gilles Simon and Gael Monfils and Spain's Tommy Robredo are also in action Tuesday, with all three still in with a slim chance of securing a place at the season-ending event in London from November 22-29.
(Writing by Iain Rogers in Madrid; Editing by John Mehaffey)
