Champion Kohlschreiber pounds Hrbaty in Auckland

WELLINGTON (Reuters) - Defending champion Philipp Kohlschreiber wasted little time in advancing to the second round of the Auckland Open Tuesday with a 6-1 6-2 thrashing of twice winner Dominik Hrbaty.

The German fifth seed, who had started the match with a shoulder injury, took just 52 minutes to get past the Slovak and set up a match with Spain's former world number one Juan Carlos Ferrero, whom he beat in last year's final.

"I didn't play the last two days but the shoulder is getting better," Kohlschreiber told reporters. "I expected a very tough game but I started to play very well.

"I'm looking forward to my next match."

Hrbaty, who led his country to victory in the Hopman Cup in Perth last week, was a wildcard entry into the tournament after injury forced him out of the world top 200 last year.

Latvia's Ernests Gulbis also advanced to the second round, using a booming serve and blistering ground strokes to beat Spain's Marcel Granollers 6-4 6-7 6-1.

The 20-year-old Gulbis should have closed out the match in the second set when he went a break up early on but the Spaniard fought back to take the set in a tiebreak.

The Latvian then broke Granollers three times in the final set to guarantee a second round clash with Argentine top seed Juan Martin Del Potro, who received a first round bye.

"I lost a little bit of concentration in the second set," Gulbis said on his match against Granollers.

"I felt good being a break up and felt like I was going to finish quickly.

"Last year I lost some tough matches when I had a chance to close the match down. At least I got my concentration back for the third set."

American qualifier John Isner provided the upset of the day session when he beat seventh-seeded Spaniard Albert Montanes 7-6 7-5, while fellow qualifier Gilles Muller saw off France's Florent Serra, a direct entry into the main draw, 6-3 6-4.

Isner faces compatriot Robby Ginepri in the next round, while Muller plays sixth-seeded American Sam Querrey.

(Writing by Greg Stutchbury in Melbourne; Editing by Martin Petty)