Verdasco wins in Paris

Associated Press

PARIS

Fernando Verdasco rallied past Marin Cilic 3-6, 6-2, 6-3 to reach the second round of the Paris Masters on Monday.

Julien Benneteau, Guillermo Garcia-Lopez, Kevin Anderson, Philipp Kohlschreiber and Florian Mayer also advanced.

The tournament is the last chance for some players to gain one of the last three remaining spots for the ATP World Tour Finals in London.

Cilic hit a forehand winner to take the first set, but Verdasco bounced back by jumping to 3-0 leads in the second and third sets.

“It’s slower than last year,” Verdasco said. “I prefer maybe a little bit more this court because it’s slower and I have more time to prepare my shots.”

Verdasco is hoping to play for Spain in next month’s Davis Cup final.