LYON, France -- Robby Ginepri celebrated his 21st birthday Tuesday by advancing to the second round of the Lyon Open.

The American defeated Raemon Sluiter of the Netherlands 7-6 (5), 6-3. Ginepri was the sharper, more penetrating player, breaking Sluiter's serve four times.

"Maybe he just didn't want it as much as me," said Ginepri, who's ranked 35th.

Also Tuesday, Russian Marat Safin lost his opening match to his career nemesis Fabrice Santoro of France, who won 6-1, 6-4 in just 63 minutes. Safin held two points for a 5-2 lead in the second set but then lost four straight games.

In another first-round match, sixth-seeded Wayne Ferreira of South Africa lost 7-6 (7), 7-6 (3) to Sweden's Thomas Enqvist, a qualifier here.

In six previous meetings, Enqvist had never taken a set from Ferreira.

"Today, I served very well," Enqvist said. "And that helped me to relax on my shots." A former world No. 4, Enqvist is currently languishing at 163.