Richard began his title defense in Bangkok with a 6-3 6-2 victory against Lukas Lacko.
Richard was only in trouble in his first service game, but he fended off the breakpoints against him and broke for a 4*-2 lead. Lacko could not fight back and Richard won the first set 6-3. The second set went even more smoothly and Richard achieved a comfortable 6-3 6-2 win against the Slovak. His next opponent is Mikhael Youzhny.