Today was a mix of first and second round action.  In first round action, Victor Hanescu must be tired of seeing Stanislas Wawrinka.  The two met in Casablanca last week with Wawrinka winning the title.  Then, they meet in the first round of Monte Carlo.  Wawrinka wins 6-2, 6-4 again.

Horacio Zeballos was also deep into the Houston tournament, reaching the semis.  The lefty Argentine lost to eventual winner, Juan Ignacio Chela.  Alas, he did not fare well in Monte Carlo losing in straight sets to Tommy Robredo.  Alberto Montanes made quick work of 16th seed, Marcos Baghdatis, in straight sets.  Jurgen Melzer, the 15th seed, had an easy win over Paul-Henri Mathieu of France, 6-3, 6-2.

Qualifier Thiemo de Bakker beat Eduardo Schwank in straight sets.  Schwank was recently fined for a lack of effort against Juan Ignacio Chela in Houston.

In second round play, Marin Cilic (who had a bye) struggled in the first set, losing that set to Igor Andreev.  He took the next two sets, 6-1, 6-4.  Berdych’s transition from hard courts to clay seems fairly smooth.  He beat wildcard, Richard Gasquet, 6-2, 6-0.  Fernando Verdasco had an easy win over Frenchman, Julien Benneteau, 6-1, 6-2.  Jo-Wilfried Tsonga beat Nicolas Almagro in two tight sets, 7-6(5), 7-5.

The top seeds have yet to play.  This includes Rafael Nadal, Novak Djokovic, and Andy Murray.  Presumably, they’ll play tomorrow.