Michael Russell and Xavier Malisse advance at Farmers Classic

Michael Russell is an old man by ATP standards at 34, but he says that what he has lost in quickness has been made up for by his competitive drive.

“I always have been” a competitor, Russell says. “I’ve always believed I could succeed.”

Russell, who said he wants to play through the 2013 season, defeated 24-year-old Jesse Levine, 6-3, 6-4, on Tuesday afternoon at UCLA’s L.A. Tennis Center to advance to the second round and face top-seeded Benoit Paire of France.

“A lot of it is mental — believing you belong there is a hurdle,” Russell said of trying to knock off top players.

In his victory over Levine, he said, he benefited from playing on a hard court — his favorite surface, helping him advance to the round of 16.

Russell wasn’t the only veteran to eliminate a player roughly a decade younger. Fifth-seeded Xavier Malisse of Belgium dispatched qualifying American Nicolas Meister, 6-4, 6-1, on Tuesday afternoon.

“If I only knew,” Malisse replied when asked the secret to his success at age 32. “Maybe because I’m getting older and not thinking much anymore.

“I played well. The first set I was trying to find my game, and the second set I played better.”

Tuesday’s action continues at 7:30 p.m. when James Blake goes up against German Tobias Kamke. Sixth-seeded Marinko Matosevic and seventh-seeded Bjorn Phau will make their tournament debuts, as will recent USC graduate Steve Johnson.

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