SAN JOSE, Calif.(AP) Taylor Dent feels his game is close to where it used to be after a first-round victory in the SAP Open.
I can still make big gains in movement,'' Dent said after beating Bobby Reynolds 6-3, 6-4 Monday.The rest of my game is very close.''
Dent has played a handful of tournaments since returning to the tour last summer following back surgery. He lost his first-round match at the Australian Open in five sets to Amer Delic, an encouraging sign.
I saw I was playing good tennis,'' he said.A loss also opens your eyes to your weaknesses.''
In other first-round action, fourth-seeded Radek Stepanek needed three sets to beat qualifier Dominik Meffert, 5-7, 6-3, 6-1; Christophe Rochus upset seventh-seeded Igor Kunitsyn, 6-2, 7-6 (7); Tommy Haas knocked off Lars Poerschke, 6-1, 7-6 (8); and Florent Serra bested Jarkko Nieminen, 7-5, 6-7 (1), 6-4.