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World number five Nikolay Davydenko beat Austrian Daniel Koellerer, plus other results from the Chennai Open.

World number five Nikolay Davydenko put aside early season blues to make a confident start in the 450,000-dollar ATP Chennai Open on Tuesday.

The top-seeded Russian outclassed the 123rd-ranked Daniel Koellerer of Austria 6-2, 6-3 in an hour and 12 minutes to advance to the second round of the season-opening event.

"It is always good to win the first match of a new year," the 27-year-old Davydenko said.

"In fact, I am always happy when I win, it really does not matter who I was playing against.

"You make a small mistake and you pay for it most times. So I just want to be more consistent and that will take time as the season progresses.

"I can't say I am fully confident yet. A good result for me is not only about winning matches. It is about how I feel inside on how well I am playing."

Davydenko, who finished among the top five for the fourth consecutive year in 2008, failed to make the quarter-finals of any of the four Grand Slam events for the first time since 2004.

"It is obviously my aim to do well in the Grand Slams, but I do not want to make too many changes in my game. I am happy with my all-round game," he said.

"I don't want to be like (Andy) Roddick, who only has big serves going for him."

Davydenko, who plays Czech wildcard Lukas Dlouhy in the second round, said he usually did not make a note of his next opponent.

"I do not see the draw, so I don't know who I am playing in the next round," he said. "Like here, I only know I am going to play tomorrow. And I will try to do the same tomorrow what I did today."

Sixth-seeded Spanish veteran Carlos Moya, who won the Chennai title in 2004 and 2005, also advanced to the second round with a 6-3, 7-6 (7/4) win over Danai Udomchoke of Thailand.

World number 25 Ivo Karlovic of Croatia, seeded fourth here, breezed past American qualifier Rajeev Ram 6-4, 6-3.

Local fans had reason to cheer as the 202nd-ranked Somdev Devvarman of India beat number 114 Kevin Kim of the United States 6-3, 6-3 in 75 minutes.

"I watched the Chennai Open closely over the years as a kid, so to win my first match here is very exciting," the 23-year-old said. "My focus this year will be to become a better player and improve my game."

In other matches, Andreas Beck of Germany whipped Roko Karanusic of Croatia 6-1, 6-0, Denis Istomin of Uzbekistan overcame India's Rohan Bopanna 6-4, 7-6 (7/3) and Czech Ivo Minar beat Wayne Odesnik of the United States 6-3, 6-0.

Reuters