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 Davydenko struggled with his serve in the first set and was broken twice before recovering in the second with two breaks of his own.
In a closely fought third set, the Russian broke Minar's serve in the opening game on the way to a 4-1 lead. But Minar came back with two straight breaks to even at 4-4 before Davydenko
-- the 2003 champion -- closed out the match.
Fifth-seeded Frenchman Gilles Simon retired with back pains when trailing 6-2, 5-3 against Italian Flavio Cipolla.
Two other Frenchmen advanced, as seventh-seeded Marc Gicquel overcame compatriot Thierry Ascione 7-6 (2), 6-3, and Florent Serra beat Portugal's Rui Machado 7-6 (5), 6-1.
In the women's event, top-seeded Italian Flavia Pennetta lost to Iveta Benesova of the Czech Republic 6-2, 6-2.
[Associated Press]
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