No problems for Del Potro in Miami

Juan Martin Del Potro eased into the second round of the Sony Ericsson in Miami today.

The Argentinian was a straightforward 6-4 6-4 winner against world number 79 Ricardo Mello of Brazil to progress on the first day of men's action in Florida.

"I served really well today, especially in the important moments," said Del Potro, who made 70% in first serves.

"At 5-4 in the second set, I closed the match with my serve. I hit great serves and I'm still working on that."

There was no such good news for another big name in action today, however.

Former world number three Nikolay Davydenko, the 2008 champion in Miami, crashed out at the hands of South African Kevin Anderson, who always had the upper hand in winning 6-4 6-3.

Anderson, who stands 6ft 8ins, said: "I was pretty happy with the way I played today.

"I just felt I had to play my game. In the rallies and how the match was progressing, I felt pretty controlled.

"He (Davydenko) has always had a great career. I know he's not at his highest ranking, but a player like that with so much experience is always going to be a tough match.

"I thought I did a great job on his second serve. He returns so well, so it was really important to mix up my serves."

Ivan Ljubicic was also a first-round casualty.

The Bosnian, ranked 38th in the world, fell to qualifier Paolo Lorenzi, the world number 154, 7-6 (7) 6-1.

Another upset saw Victor Hanescu lose to qualifier Alex Bogomolov 6-3 4-6 7-5.

Mikhail Kukushkin of Kazakhstan beat Finland's Jarkko Nieminen 3-6, 6-3, 6-2 while Xavier Malisse went through with a 7-6 (3) 6-4 win over Ryan Sweeting. Potito Starace of Italy lost 6-2 6-4 to India's Somdev Devvarman.

Russian Igor Andreev beat Santiago Giraldo of Colombia in three sets, 6-1 2-6 6-1.

Florida native James Blake beat compatriot Michael Russell 3-6 7-6 (7) 7-6 (3) in a thrilling evening match.