Davydenko, who broke his opponent five times and saved the four break points he faced, is one of the five players who can still qualify for the season-ending event in London. Fernando Verdasco, Robin Soderling, Fernando Gonzalez and Tsonga are also in the running.

Tsonga easily beat Albert Montanes of Spain 6-1, 7-5, showing no signs of the wrist injury that forced him to retire in the first round of the Valencia Open last week.

The eighth-seeded Frenchman won five straight games and sealed the first set with a forehand winner down the line combined with an ace.

In the second set, Tsonga took Montanes' serve in the 11th game when the Spaniard sent a forehand in the net and doublefaulted. Tsonga, who won 93 percent of the points played on his first serve, finished Montanes off in the next game on his first match point with another forehand winner.

The 28-year-old Davydenko, who won the Paris Masters in 2006, needs to reach the semifinals to secure one of the two remaining spots while Tsonga must defend his title in Paris without facing Verdasco in the final.

Davydenko said he didn't feel under more pressure going into this week.

"There are three guys who need to win this tournament to qualify," said Davydenko, who has won four titles this season. "It won't be easy for the likes of Tsonga, Soderling or Verdasco and it makes me feel good."

The seventh-seeded Verdasco rallied to beat Andreas Seppi of Italy for the sixth time in as many matches on the main tour with a 6-7 (3), 6-4, 6-4 win. The 25-year-old Spaniard closed out the match on his first match point with a service winner and eliminated two contenders from the race to the ATP World Tour Finals _ Radek Stepanek and Marin Cilic.

Verdasco, who had his foot bandaged in the third set, broke Seppi in the ninth game of the decider and served out the match.

Verdasco will play in London later this month if he wins in Paris, but could qualify earlier depending on his rivals' results.

"It was my big challenge for this year, and this week is the last week," Verdasco said about the ATP World Tour finals. "After this, everything is going to be decided. So I'm giving my best in the last chance, the last week to try to do it."

Verdasco will face either 12th-seeded Croatian Marin Cilic or qualifier Lukasz Kubot in the third round.

Davydenko won 71 percent of points on serve and had five aces against Becker. His next opponent will either be Soderling or Ivo Karlovic.

Nicolas Almagro of Spain defeated Marco Chiudinelli of Switzerland 6-2, 6-4 to advance to a second-round match against second-seeded Rafael Nadal.

"This tournament is always difficult, and this kind of surface is the most difficult of the year for me," said Nadal, who has never won the Paris Masters. "And I think it's faster than the other years. The bounce is lower, but that's it."

French qualifier David Guez, 179th in the rankings, defeated Stanislas Wawrinka 6-3, 6-4 to reach the second round, while Juan Monaco of Argentina broke Jeremy Chardy of France three times on his way to a 7-6 (6), 7-5 victory.

"Today, I was frustrated because I was not able to do what I wanted to do," Chardy said. "When you are on the court and you just can't do what you want, it's always annoying."

Frenchman Julien Benneteau edged Philipp Petzschner of Germany 4-6, 7-5, 6-3 and will take on World No. 1 Roger Federer on Wednesday.

"It's going to be a very tough match, but I'm really motivated," said Benneteau. "Playing against Federer in center court is an extraordinary experience, and I really wanted to do that. I will try not to think too much about him. I will rather think about my own game."