Tomas Berdych secures second-round spot in Japan Open

Tomas Berdych has started off his Japan Open campaign brightly by defeating Benoit Paire 6-1 7-6 in Tokyo.

The 27-year-old took a strong hold on the game in the early stages of the contest by grabbing the first break point and maintaining his dominance to grab the opening set.

Paire put up a fight in the second set by matching his opponent on serve and forcing the set to a tie break.

While Paire had fought back in the second, it was Berdych who did just enough in the tie break to snatch the set and book a place in the second round.