Kafelnikov struggles through in Milan

Kafelnikov broke Tarango three times in the third set

Second-seed Yevgeny Kafelnikov fought back to win in three sets against Jeff Tarango in Milan after losing the opening set.

The 26-year-old Russian took two hours to overcome the US qualifier in the opening round of the $400,000 Milan Indoor ATP Tournament.

Kafelnikov eventually progressed 4-6 6-4 6-2 but looked in real danger when the American broke his serve in the opening game of the final set.

But the player ranked 5th in the 2000 ATP list broke back on three occasions to book his place in the second round.

Sergi Bruguera also had to recover from a poor start as he beat Harel Levy 3-6 7-6 6-3.

Levy even had a match point on Bruguera's serve in the second set but the Spanish veteran survived to set-up a second round meeting with Jan-Michael Gambill.

Number eight seed Marc Rosset also needed three sets to overcome Ivan Ljubic of Croatia 4-6 7-6 6-4, but third seed Dominik Hrbaty crashed out.

France's Fabrice Santoro beat the Slovakian 3-6 7-5 6-3.

Top-seeded Marat Safin takes to the court on Wednesday against David Prinosil.