Andy Murray, steadily rebuilding his career after major hip surgery earlier this year, defeated qualifier Marius Copil 6-3, 6-7 (7/9), 6-4.
Top-seeded 2012 Stockholm champion Tomas Berdych needs to win his next match against German qualifier Matthias Bachinger to stay in the running for a berth in the eight-man London ATP finals.
An out-of-sorts Gilles Simon, who had a first round bye, was unable to make any impression on Marius Copil during the 7-5, 6-3 loss.