Former Australian Open champion Thomas Johansson rattled off a whirlwind 6-2, 6-1 win over Austria's Stefan Koubek in the first round of the Barcelona Open on Monday.
The ninth-seeded Swede, the 2002 winner in Australia, will face Belgium's Xavier Malisse, who disposed of Philipp Kohlschreiber with an equally emphatic 6-1 6-2 victory, in the second round of the 850,000 euro ($1.10 million) claycourt tournament.
Thai Paradorn Srichaphan was a comfortable 6-2, 6-1 winner over Kenneth Carlsen, overpowering the Dane with some pounding forehands and pin-point passing shots despite the blustery conditions.
Paradorn, who lost to Carlos Moya in the final in Chennai at the start of the year, cashed in on an error-strewn performance from Carlsen to break twice in the second set and serve out to record his first claycourt win of the season.
Tenth seed Dominik Hrbaty of Slovakia also brushed aside Frenchman Jerome Haehnel 6-1, 6-1, but there were defeats for Igor Andreev and former French Open champion Albert Costa.
Andreev, who won his first ATP tournament when he beat Spain's David Ferrer in Valencia earlier this month, fell victim to Argentine youngster Juan Monaco 6-3, 2-6, 6-3.
Monaco, a finalist in Casablanca earlier this year, heads for a second-round match against Max Mirnyi of Belarus who beat off a strong challenge from Costa to win through 7-6 (7-4), 3-6, 7-6 (7-2).
MISSED CHANCE
Costa, who won at Roland Garros in 2002, was 5-3 down in the decisive third set but fought back to force the tiebreak only to lose out 7-2 to his big-serving opponent.
"I missed my chance in the first set and should have won that one," said Costa, who had not managed to take a set off his opponent in their previous two meetings.
"I did well to fight back in the third, but it was very difficult to deal with a player like him in the tiebreak and he handled it extremely well. I just hope my luck changes next week when I play in Estoril."
There was better luck for fellow Spaniard Felix Mantilla, winner in Barcelona in 1999. The 30-year-old claimed a comfortable 6-2, 6-1 victory over unpredictable Frenchman Michael Llodra.
Mantilla will meet number two seed and French Open champion Gaston Gaudio of Argentina in the second round.
Dutchman Peter Wessels will face Gaudio's fellow countryman Guillermo Coria after a 6-3 6-3 win over Cyril Saulnier of France.
Spain's Feliciano Lopez got the better of fellow countryman Nicolas Almagro 6-4 6-2 and will meet the winner of Tuesday's all-Spanish clash between Juan Carlos Ferrero and Albert Montanes.
Top seed Marat Safin of Russia and Spanish teenager Rafael Nadal, who became the youngest winner of a Masters Series event in 15 years with his victory over Coria in Monte Carlo on Sunday, will be in action later in the week.
