Ginepri fights back to beat Melzer in Madrid

MADRID, Oct 15 (Reuters) American Robby Ginepri came from a set down to defeat Austria's Jurgen Melzer 2-6 7-6 6-4 today and book his place in the second round of the Madrid Masters against defending champion Roger Federer.

The 25-year-old qualifier, who lost to Federer in straight sets in the quarter-finals of last year's tournament, battled his way back from a stuttering start to edge the second set on a tie-break and maintain his 100 percent record against Melzer.

Argentine Juan Monaco also recovered from a set down to win through 6-7 6-0 6-4 against Russia's Igor Andreev on his debut in the 2.2 million dollar hard court tournament.

Monaco will meet 11th-seeded German Tommy Haas in the second round.

REUTERS BJR PM1750