Querrey, Ginepri advance in Heineken Open

Auckland, New Zealand:

Sam Querrey and Robby Ginepri of the United States beat New Zealand wild card opponents on Monday to reach the second round of the Heineken Open.

The sixth-seeded Querrey served six aces but mixed his all-court game to beat 463rd-ranked Dan King-Turner 6-4, 7-5. Unseeded Ginepri beat 413th-ranked Rubin Statham 6-2, 6-3.

Querrey's powerful serve was the key to his win over King-Turner, putting the New Zealander on the defensive.

"I'm happy with my serve. That's my weapon and if it's not working I tend to struggle," Querrey said.

Querrey, who won his first ATP title and made his Davis Cup debut in 2008, took advantage of a single service break in the seventh game to win the first set in 34 minutes.

He broke again in the first game of the second set but gave up serve in the 10th game, placing himself under a small amount of pressure at 5-5. He immediately broke King-Turner again, then served out the match on his first match point, finishing with a crashing crosscourt volley.

"He definitely played well," Querrey said. "I was here last year and saw him then so I knew he was a dangerous player."

Querrey said he wasn't fazed by the strong crowd support for the New Zealander.

"When I play in the States I have the crowd behind me. Dan has one tournament a year so he deserves it," he said.

Querrey said he was happy with his game as he worked toward next week's Australian Open, where he reached the third round last year.

"I've trained really hard in November and December and hopefully that will pay off during the year," he said.

Ginepri gained an early service break in the opening set against Statham and easily closed out the set. He exchanged service breaks with the New Zealander in the fifth and sixth games of the second set, then lifted his game to sweep the next three games.

Earlier on Monday, American John Isner, who won the USTA wild-card tournament to gain entry to the Australian Open, beat Thomaz Bellucci of Brazil 6-3, 5-7, 7-6 (3) in his final qualifying match to earn a place in the main draw at Auckland.