Tim Henman's Samsung Open bid is threatened by one of his Grand Slam conquerors or Greg Rusedski's team-mate.
American Chris Woodruff and German qualifier Marc Goellner both had smooth straight sets victories in the first round yesterday.
The winner of their second round clash will face Henman in the quarter-finals, assuming the British No. 1 justifies his top seeding.
Woodruff upset the German eighth seed Markus Hantschk 6-4, 6-3.
The 26-year-old from Tennessee defeated Henman at the Australian Open in January before losing to Pete Sampras in the quarter-finals.
Goellner, Rusedski's doubles partner, eased past big-serving Australian Wayne Arthurs 6-0, 7-6.
How Rusedski managed to lose in the first round at Wimbledon to Vince Spadea remains a mystery.
The hapless American was hammered 6-1,6-2 last night by second seed Dominik Hrbaty from Slovakia.
Rusedski plays in the doubles tonight and the singles tomorrow night against American Paul Goldstein.
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