Paris: In his first match since returning from a four-month doping ban, Marin Cilic beat Dutch qualifier Igor Sijsling 5-7, 6-1, 6-4 on Monday to reach the second round of the Paris Masters.
The Croatian served 22 aces and hit 42 winners to only 17 for Sijsling.
Cilic tested positive for a banned stimulant in May but claimed he had not intended to ingest it in a glucose tablet bought at a pharmacy.
Feliciano Lopez of Spain, Lukas Rosol of the Czech Republic, Dutch qualifier Robin Haase and Colombian qualifier Santiago Giraldo also advanced to the next round.
Lopez outlasted Bernard Tomic of Australia 6-4, 6-7 (4), 7-6 (1). The Spaniard failed to serve out the match at 5-4 in the second set but he recovered in the tiebreaker of the third set by winning the last six points.
Rosol beat Jeremy Chardy of France 6-3, 6-4, Haase defeated Denis Istomin of Uzbekistan 7-6 (8), 6-3, and Giraldo edged French wild card Adrian Mannarino 6-3, 2-6, 6-4.
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