Flushing Meadows, NY -- (Sports Network) - Former champion Marat Safin was a hard-fought first-round winner Tuesday at the U.S. Open.

An unseeded Safin went the distance to get past veteran American Vincent Spadea 3-6, 6-2, 6-3, 4-6, 6-4 at Ashe Stadium on the grounds of the USTA Billie Jean King National Tennis Center.

The former world No. 1 and two-time major titlist Safin captured the U.S. Open back in 2000. The big Russian will meet Spaniard Tommy Robredo in the second round.

A mild upset came when former Top-5 German star Tommy Haas erased 12th-seeded Frenchman Richard Gasquet in a splendid five-setter, 6-7 (3-7), 6-4, 5-7, 7-5, 6-2. Haas reached the quarterfinals here in three of the previous four years.

In other action involving Top-16 seeds, No. 13 Spaniard Fernando Verdasco vaulted past Russian Igor Kunitsyn 6-3, 6-4, 6-1, a No. 15 Robredo rolled past German Mischa Zverev 7-6 (7-4), 6-2, 6-1 and 6-foot-10 No. 14 Croat Ivo Karlovic handled Czech Jan Minar 7-5, 6-1, 6-4.

American Sam Querrey posted an upset by dismantling 22nd-seeded Czech Tomas Berdych 6-3, 6-1, 6-2, while 31st-seeded Italian Andreas Seppi edged out Korean Hyung-Taik Lee 6-3, 7-5, 3-6, 3-6, 6-3. Querrey closed out a listless Berdych with his 11th ace of the lopsided match.

Additional opening-round wins came for Finn Jarkko Nieminen, Spaniard Guillermo-Garcia Lopez, Luxembourg's Gilles Muller, Frenchmen Jeremy Chardy, Nicolas Devilder and Florent Serra, Korean Yen-Hsun Lu, and Italian lucky- loser Flavio Cipolla, who replaced 21st-seeded Russian Mikhail Youzhny in the draw and outlasted Czech Jan Hernych 6-7 (2-7), 6-4, 2-6, 7-6 (7-0), 7-6 (7-4).

The U.S. Open marks the fourth and final major of the year.