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Bad day for the French in Paris

Sun 8th, November 2009

Paris, France (Sports Network) - American James Blake and German Benjamin Becker each defeated French opponents Sunday on the first day of play at the Paribas Masters, the final Masters tournament of the year.

Blake notched a 6-4, 6-3 victory over veteran Fabrice Santoro, who has said the 2009 season would likely be his last on the ATP Tour. Becker rallied from a set down for a 3-6, 6-2, 6-3 victory over wild card entry Michael Llodra.

The two matches were the only first-round tilts on Sunday's schedule. Each of the 16 seeds in the field received byes into the second round.

Roger Federer, who lost Sunday in the final of the Swiss Indoors, is the top seed. Rafael Nadal is seeded second.

Santoro, who will turn 37 years old next month, won six titles in his career. He captured his last crown at Newport in 2008. Twice this year, the crafty veteran reached a singles semifinal -- losing at Eastbourne and at Newport.

Blake will next face fourth-seeded Andy Murray in the second round. The Scotsman just captured the title in Valencia on Sunday.

Becker's win set up a second-round match against sixth-seeded Russian Nikolay Davydenko.

This is the final tournament before the season-ending ATP Tour World Finals, which takes place from November 22-29 in London. Two spots remain open for the exclusive eight-man field.