AFP - Frenchman Gael Monfils kept hopes for a place in next month's season-ending championships alive Wednesday beginning his campaign at the Austria Tennis Trophy with a 7-5, 6-4 defeat of Guillermo Garcia-Lopez.

The defeated Spaniard sealed his own fate with a double-fault after saving two match points against third seed Monfils.

Monfils, provisional 16th, faces long odds to make it into one of the two spots remaining for the ATP World Tour Final starting November 22 in London. But he says the chase is the last thing on his mind as he competes at the event where he lost the 2008 final.

"I'm really not thinking about London, not at all. I'm more excited about maybe winning a title here after missing it last year.

"I hope to play well here and next week in Valencia - maye I can grab the title in Bercy (Paris Masters), that would help."

The youngster trails top seed Marin Cilic standing 12th in the chase and second seed Radek Stepanek on provisional 14th.

Monfils has had a reasonable run of recent form, winning the indoor title last month in Metz and playing the Tokyo semi-finals against compatriot Jo-Wilfried Tsonga, also a competitor for London.

It is the first event for Monfils since his third-round showing in Shanghai this month.

He said that he remains unworried by playing Vienna instead of Lyon this week at home. "I make my schedule to try and win tournaments. I'm comfortable here and I like the court and the ambience.

"It's more importatant for me to try and win a title than to play Lyon. I was just in Metz not so long ago."

Fourth seed Philipp Kohlschreiber and Spain's number five Nicolas Almagro both reached the quarter-finals with victories.

Kohlschreiber advanced into the last eight as Romanian Victor Crivoi quit with a right shoulder injury to hand the German a 6-2, 3-0 win in 34 minutes. Almagro beat Wayne Odesnik of the 6-4, 6-4.

Slovak Dominik Hrbaty, close to retirement, advanced into the second round over Spain's Ruben Ramirez Hidalgo 6-3, 6-4.

American eighth seed John Isner began his European autumn indoor campaign in disappointing fashion here, eliminated 7-6 (7/4), 6-4 in the opening round by Serb Janko Tipsarevic.

Isner, ranked 39th, found out for the third consecutive event that his big serve is not enough to see him through as he was knocked out in just over 90 minutes.

The two-time semi-finalist over the summer at home in Indianapolis and Washington, was left adrift after again losing a first-round contest after the same fate in Shanghai and Tokyo.

The 24-year-old was held to a minimal - by his standards - 11 aces. Tipsarevic showed no ill effects after losing the Kremlin Cup final at the weekend in Moscow against Russian Mikhail Youzhny.

The Serb said that his first live exposure to the two-metre-plus American came during the match warm-up.

"I'd seen him on TV but that was it," said the number 46. "I had no real idea how he would play.

"But it was exactly like other guys told me. You need to try and move him, since he hits the ball better from the spot rather than on the run.

"I think I won four points on his serve in the first set, but I had more chances in the second, including three break points on his second serve.

"I didn't take advantage, but I felt I had the better game today," said the winner, now 27-23 this season who concluded with a down-the-line winner to the empty court.