THE ASSOCIATED PRESS HAMBURG, Germany -- Jo-Wilfried Tsonga made some history for himself Monday in the first round of the Hamburg Masters. The Australian Open runner-up rallied to beat fellow Frenchman Nicolas Mahut 0-6, 7-6 (5), 6-2 for his first win after coming back from a right knee injury -- and his first on the tour on clay. Tsonga missed a month because of the injury and lost in the first round of the Rome Masters last week to Gilles Simon. Tsonga is seeded 14th at the Hamburg event, a major clay-court warmup for the French Open. A serve-and-volley player, Tsonga rarely plays on clay and had never won a match on the slow surface in the main draw. "I was a little lost at the beginning. In Rome, I didn't even know what to do with the ball," Tsonga said. "I think I can play on this surface. I need to play more matches and gain more experience." Also, 10th-seeded Mikhail Youzhny of Russia lost to Fernando Verdasco of Spain 6-3, 6-2, 12th-seeded Juan Monaco of Argentina advanced when Filippo Volandri of Italy retired with a knee injury with Monaco leading 6-1, 4-0. Nicolas Kiefer of Germany upset 16th-seeded Paul-Henri Mathieu of France 6-4, 6-4 and No. 15 Andy Murray of Britain topped Dmitry Tursunov of Russia 6-4, 6-1. "He's a tough guy to play, very unpredictable," Murray said. "I tried to stay on top and I was happy with the way I mixed it up. Overall, I played a very good match." Top-ranked Roger Federer of Switzerland and No. 2 Rafael Nadal of Spain had time to practise Monday since the top eight seeded players have first-round byes. Both are coming off losses at the Rome Masters. Nadal lost for only the second time in his last 105 matches on clay, falling to Juan Carlos Ferrero 7-5, 6-1 in the second round. Federer lost to Radek Stepanek 7-6 (4), 7-6 (7) in the quarter-finals. With both of them out, the Rome title went to third-ranked Novak Djokovic. Nadal at least had the excuse of an open blister on his foot. "It's much better. Not perfect, but for sure better," Nadal said Monday. Nadal has complained that the European clay-court season has been crammed together this year without a week off between any of the tournaments. "After Rome, I had to come here," said Nadal, conceding that he might have skipped Hamburg if he had lasted until the final in Rome. "Four straight weeks on clay, that is too much," said Nadal, who won the tournaments in Monte Carlo and Barcelona before going to Rome. Nadal may be the dominant player on clay but it's Federer who rules in Hamburg. Nadal has played in Hamburg only twice before, and lost last year's final to Federer, who ended Nadal's 81-match winning streak on clay. Federer has won the Hamburg event four times and his first victory came in 2002, when he broke into the top 10. "I've done particularly well here and I always play unbelievable tennis in Germany," Federer said. Federer has had a troubled season so far, after having mononucleosis at the start of the year. His only title came at a relatively small clay-court event in Estoril last month. The loss in Rome was his sixth of the year, but Federer said he wasn't feeling more vulnerable. "It's a distorted picture, because this year I am focusing more on the Masters Series and the Grand Slams and I am not playing so many events," Federer said. "I feel I am moving well, playing my normal tennis again. "I was unhappy with the way I played in Rome, but it happens sometimes. I have to make sure it doesn't happen too often," Federer added. "The more you lose, the more they believe they can beat me. But believing is not enough, you still have to beat me." Federer said he would start worrying if he didn't do well at the upcoming Grand Slams, the French Open, which he has never won, Wimbledon and the U.S. Open. "Then, it would be a different situation," said Federer, who needs two Grand Slam titles to pull even with Pete Sampras, who had 14.
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