Black Tennis Pros

Germany's Dustin Brown

 It was already after 9 p.m. when Gael Monfils took the court for the first time in singles at the 19th Gerry Weber Open. It’s no surprise that the number 3 seed didn’t want to play a long match in his GWO debut. He made it short and sweet, beating his compatriot Florent Serra 6-4, 6-3 in just 57 minutes.

Serra had reached the main field in Halle through qualifiers but could not challenge Monfils’ impressive game, losing his service in the seventh game of the first set. The 24-year-old Monfils did what he wanted to with Serra in their second ATP meeting, breaking him in the first and final games of the second set to take the match. Monfils also beat Serra in Brisbane in 2010, and the world number 8 next faces Croatian Ivan Dodig in the second round. That match will not be played until Thursday as Monfils is playing on Wednesday doubles with Dustin Brown.

Sixth seed Florian Mayer withstood 20 aces from wildcard Dustin Brown to reach the second round of the Gerry Weber Open in Halle on Wednesday.

Brown was clinical on serve but simply could not catch his fellow German, who triumphed 7-6 (8-6) 2-6 6-3 in 79 minutes to set up a second-round clash with Lu Yen-Hsun.