ATP Geneva: Guillermo Garcia-Lopez takes out eighth seed Sam Querrey in the first round, no such problems for fellow American Steve Johnson

The 2016 Geneva Open stepped up a gear on day two with three seeds in action including Americans Sam Querrey and Steve Johnson. Johnson cruised through to the second round, but Querrey exited at the first hurdle after Guillermo Garcia-Lopez edged their tight encounter which included a first set tie-breaker.

Garcia-Lopez knocks out eighth-seed Querrey

Querrey was defeated by Garcia-Lopez for the first time (Photo: Getty Images/Julian Finney)

The first seed exited the 2016 Geneva Open on day two, as Sam Querrey was beaten in straight sets by Garcia-Lopez. The pair had met four times previously, with the American winning all four times but couldn’t progress through in their first encounter on clay.

The match started well for eighth-seed Querrey, as he broke early on to take a 2-0 lead. He was forced to save three break points on his own serve in the following game but failed to stop a fourth, and was broken back for 2-1. Once again he found himself up a break four games later but immediately gave the advantage back, before holding from 0-40 down to take the opening set to a tie-breaker. The tie-breaker was equally poised at 5-5, after Garcia-Lopez had raced into a 5-2 lead, but he then won the next two points to secure his first set over Querrey since 2014.

The second set was a more cagey affair, with neither player even coming close to breaking serve. Serving at 4-5 to stay in the match, Querrey went down three match points, and despite initially saving two of them, he couldn’t prevent a third from being taken, and Garcia-Lopez clinched a win over the 28-year-old for the first time in his career, 7-6 (5), 6-4.

Johnson ousts veteran Youzhny

Querrey's doubles partner Steve Johnson avoided exiting in the singles (Photo: Getty Images/Dennis Grombkowski)

Steve Johnson avoided a similar fate as compatriot Querrey, by defeating veteran Mikhail Youzhny in two straightforward sets. The seventh seed faces Andrey Kuznetsov next and didn’t have to face a break point throughout the match, winning 86 percent of points on his first serve.

The American only required one break in each set, and broke in the sixth game of the match on his first opportunity, going on to clinch the opener after only losing six points in his own service games. The second followed a similar pattern, but Johnson only broke through when it seemed as though the pair were heading to a tie-breaker. Youzhny had saved two break points in his previous game, but could only save another before being broken to set up Johnson to serve for the match, which he did straightforwardly to reach the second round.

Other day two results

Last year's semifinalist Federico Delbonis progressed through to the second round (Photo: Getty Images/Clive Brunskill)

Querrey and Johnson were not the only seeds in action on day two, with last year’s semifinalist Federico Delbonis back in action against the returning Janko Tipsarevic. The Argentine clinched the first set with a one-sided scoring of 6-1, despite having to face seven break points on his own serve. The pair exchanged breaks in the second set, before Delbonis secured victory in a tie-breaker, after saving a set point.

Every match was settled in two sets, and Inigo Cervantes continued this trend by defeating qualifier Andreas Beck 6-1, 6-3 straight after Garcia-Lopez’s win. Another qualifier, Christian Garin, was beaten 6-3, 7-5 by world number 43 Pablo Carreno Busta, whilst Lukas Rosol rallied past Roberto Ortega-Olmedo. In the final match of the day, Latvian Ernests Gulbis defeated Ricardas Berankis 7-5, 7-5.

In the doubles event, fourth seeds Jonathan Erlich and Colin Fleming were dispatched 6-4, 7-6 (5) by Marin Draganja and Brit Dominic Inglot. Mariusz Fyrstenberg and Santiago Gonzalez defeated Marcus Daniell and Artem Sitak 6-4, 6-2 in the other doubles match to take place on day two.

Day three preview

Top seed Stan Wawrinka is on the line-up for day three (Photo: Getty Images/Dennis Grombkowski)

Top seed Stan Wawrinka is in action on day three in his home country, but faces a tricky encounter with Albert Ramos-Vinolas. Their match is scheduled to take place in the evening session, and follows the defending champion’s first attempt at defending his 2015 crown, as Thomaz Bellucci takes on Mikhail Kukushkin.

Elsewhere the three top doubles pairings are in action on Courts One and Two respectively.