Houston, April 11:

Fifth-seeded Tommy Haas started fast and then had to push hard in the second set before beating Oscar Hernandez 6-1, 6-4 on Monday night in the first round of the US Men’s Clay Court Championships.

Albert Montanes of Spain took advantage of erratic play by third-seeded Robby Ginepri for a 6-4, 6-4 victory in another first-round match. In other matches, Olivier Marach of Austria defeated Juan Antonio Marin of Costa Rica 6-4, 6-1, and Jurgen Melzer of Austria downed Ivo Minar of the Czech Republic 7-6 (7), 6-0.

Top-seeded Andy Roddick has been in the finals of the tournament the last five years, including three titles in that span. Roddick will face Paul Capdeville of Chile in the first round.