Takao Suzuki beat 10th seed American Jan-Michael Gambill to reach the second round of the Japan Open.

Suzuki, ranked 110th in the world, ousted the 43rd-ranked Gambill 6-4 3-6 6-3 under the closed roof - due to a typhoon - of the Ariake Colosseum's main court.

Gambill struggled with his serve, while the 26-year-old Japanese served 13 aces.

"I knew that if I could keep my serve strong it would make things hard (for Gambill)," said Suzuki, who finished in the quarter-finals in last year's event.

In other men's singles action, Magnus Norman of Sweden beat Switzerland's George Bastl 6-3 6-0 and Swede Magnus Larsson defeated Mario Ancic of Croatia 7-6 (7-4) 6-2.

Meanwhile, unseeded American Mardy Fish beat Japanese Goichi Motomura 4-6 7-6 (9-7) 6-2 and Karol Kucera of Solvakia downed German Maximilian Abel 4-6 7-6 (7-2) 6-4.

World number one Lleyton Hewitt, the defending Japan Open champion, will face former French Open winner Michael Chang of the US on Wednesday.

In the women's singles event, Akiko Morigami of Japan defeated Paraguay's Rossana Neffa-De Los Rios 6-4 6-2.

Most matches on the outdoor courts were called off by heavy rain and strong winds from Typhoon Higos, one of the strongest storms to threaten Japan's capital since World War II.