After never defeating the world No 20-ranked Ginepri in three attempts, the Thai gritted his teeth in a nail-biting first set tie-break and staved off four set points before prevailing in straight sets 7-6 (12-10) 6-3 after one hour and 25 minutes.

The Thai appeared to getting back on track after crashing out in four straight first rounds before his arrival in the desert of Indian Wells. He handed the 18-seeded Ginepri his sixth defeat this season. Ginepri's only win this year came in the first round of the Australian Open.

Paradorn and Ginepri were engaged in a sea-sawing battle in the first set and neither player came close to breaking the other's serve. They held serve until 6-6 and the set went to a tie-breaker.

The Thai was on the threshold of losing the opening set four times, but each time he survived to fight on. When he had his chance at 11-10, Paradorn capitalised on it to gain the upper-hand.

The Thai dominated play in the second set and managed a break at love in the sixth game to lead 4-2. It was enough to secure his victory.

In the third round, Paradorn will play a must-watch match against former world No 1 Juan Carlos Ferrero of Spain, a 6-2 4-6 7-6 (7-4) winner over American Vince Spadea.

The match is scheduled in the evening session after the game between James Blake and Tommy Robredo. Star Sports will broadcast the Paradorn-Ferrero match, which is estimated to start at 10am (Bangkok time) today.

The 14th-seeded Ferrero leads Paradorn 3-1 in their head-to-head record. The only time Paradorn beat the "Mosquito" was in the 2002 Paris Masters Series.

Meanwhile, world No 1 Roger Federer took his first step towards a third straight title with a straight-sets win over Chile's Nicolas Massu.

Despite his overwhelming dominance of the men's tour, Federer said he was just glad to get through his tournament opener, advancing to the third round with a 6-3 7-6 (7/4) victory over the 2004 double Olympic gold medallist.

"I'm always worried about crashing out in the early rounds," Federer said. "I go to so many tournaments as titleholder, and always to back it up, it's never easy."

Second-seeded Spaniard Rafael Nadal, who conquered Federer in a three was also happy to make it through his first match.