Fifth seed Ivan Dodig saved five match-points against Indian qualifier Vishnu Vardhan before advancing to the second round of the ATP Chennai Open Monday. The 36th-ranked Croat fought back from the brink on his 27th birthday to oust unfancied Vardhan 4-6, 7-6 (10-8), 6-1 in two hours and 35 minutes. Vardhan, ranked a lowly 312, had two match-points at 6-5 in the second set and three more in the tie-breaker, but failed to clinch his first ATP tour victory. Sixth seed Italian Fabio Fognini stumbled in his maiden appearance in the tournament, winning just one game against Dudi Sela of Israel. Fognini, a French Open quarterfinalist last year, lost 0-6, 1-6 in under an hour as Sela served superbly and outwitted the Italian with clever cross-court returns. Sela next plays Benoit Paire of France, who recorded an equally emphatic 6-2, 6-1 victory over Spaniard Pere Riba. A second Indian wildcard Yuki Bhambri delighted home fans with a 6-2, 6-3 win over Karol Beck of the Slovak Republic. The top contenders, including No. 1 seed Janko Tipsarevic of Serbia, will begin action later in the week after being handed first-round byes. Meanwhile, India's No. 1 Somdev Devvarman pulled out of his home event with a shoulder injury and was replaced in the draw by Frenchman Edouard Roger-Vasselin, the organizers said in a statement. Seeds safe There were no upsets as the seeded players all advanced in the first round of the season-opening Qatar Open Monday. Fifth-seeded Viktor Troicki of Serbia, beat Lukas Rosol of the Czech Republic 6-4, 7-6 (4) while sixth-seeded Alex Bogomolov Jr. of Russia came from a set down to beat Filippo Volandri of Italy 5-7, 6-4, 6-2. Eighth-seeded Andreas Seppi of Italy beat Lukasz Kubot of Poland, 6-2, 6-3.
