Safin falls to shock first-round loss in Bangkok

The German joined compatriot Simon Stadler in going through as Stadler moved into a second-round clash with top seed Novak Djokovic after stopping Julien Benneteau of France 7-5, 6-1.

 But two more Germans made exits, with Russian Teimuraz Gabashvili ousting Michael Berrer 6-4, 6-3 and Czech Lukas Dlouhy defeating Benjamin Becker 6-4, 7-6 (7-4).

 Safin had little to offer in defeat after last playing in the second round of the US Open. The disgusted Russian was burdened with 33 unforced errors as Petzschner notched a dozen aces and 13 winners.

 "I didn't feel comfortable on the court, it's just the way I was today," said the former number one.

 "I didn't play well, nothing happened for me out there. It's my job to play tennis and I didn't do it well today."

   Sixth seed Robin Soderling put a month's worth of misery behind him with a 6-2, 6-4 defeat of Aisam-Ul-Haq Qureshi.

 Sweden's Soderling had put his racket away for a week after going out in the US Open first round on the heels of a similar opening disappointment at the Beijing Games.

 But his win over his 207-ranked Pakistani opponent renewed the confidence that he has recently been missing.

 "It felt good to get back on court, I feel really refreshed and ready for the indoor season," said the winner, ranked 34th and a back-to-back runner-up at Rotterdam and Memphis just seven months ago.

 Soderling has a reputation as a terror on fast indoors and finds the court at the Impact arena to his liking.

 "It's medium fast and fair to all styles. I won comfortably on it and I'm quite pleased with how I played," he said.

 Soderling said that his opponent, the only Pakistani on the ATP, put up a good showing at an event which only began on Tuesday as competitors arrived from Davis Cup play half a world away.

 "He played a lot better than I would have expected," said the winner, who improved to 33-17 this season.

 Soderling's win was his first since a Cincinnati third round in August. The winner said his rest after the US Open made him eager to return to the game.

 "I just took a break and rested for a week. Now I'm relaxed and ready to play again."

   Australian Open champion Djokovic is playing as top seed, with his Melbourne finals opponent Jo-Wilfried Tsonga of France seeded second.

DPA