Ivan Dodig rallied from a set down to see off Indian wild card Vishnu Vardhan in the first round of the Chennai Open.
Fognini falls at the first, Indian Bhambri sends Beck packing
Ivan Dodig had to save five match points before eventually seeing off Indian Vishnu Vardhan in the opening round of the Chennai Open.
Dodig - seeded fifth - needed two hours and 35 minutes to get the better of the home favourite, who was handed a wild card, 4-6 7-6 (10-8) 6-1.
The Croatian, ranked 36th in the world, hammered down eight aces to set up a clash with either Portugal's Frederico Gil or qualifier Go Soeda of Japan next.
Vardhan, ranked 312, had broken his opponent's serve in the 10th game of the opening set but then failed to take his chances in the second, which eventually went the way of Dodig after a tense tie-break.
Miserable start
Elsewhere, Italian Fabio Fognini endured a miserable start to his 2012 season as he was thrashed 6-0 6-1 by Dudi Sela of Israel.
Karol Beck also fell at the first hurdle, the Slovakian going down 6-2 6-3 to Indian Yuki Bhambri.
Bhambri - who has now won two of his five matches on the ATP Tour - broke his opponent three times in a see-saw first set that he finally took at the fifth opportunity.
He then broke Beck, a replacement for injured Croatian Marin Cilic, in the second and sixth games to take a 5-1 lead in the second set. His reward for beating a player ranked 244 places higher than him is a second-round showdown with top seed Janko Tipsarevic.
However, home hopes in the tournament were hit when Indian number one Somdev Devvarman pulled out with a shoulder injury. Frenchman Edouard Roger-Vasselin will take his place in the draw.
"Keeping the Australian Open in mind, my doctors have advised me to take this decision," Devvarman said in a statement.
