Two-time defending champion David Ferrer of Spain defeated local favorite Santiago Gonzalez 6-1, 6-2 to reach the second round of the Mexican Open on Tuesday.
The top-seeded Ferrer, attempting to win his third title of the season, needed just over an hour to eliminate the Mexican player at The Fairmont Acapulco Princess. The sixth-ranked Spaniard saved all five break points he allowed to Gonzalez and converted on four of his seven opportunities.
Ferrer won the Copa Claro last week in Argentina and had already won the title in Auckland, New Zealand, in January.
Photo: EPA
Also on Tuesday, No. 2 seed Nicolas Almagro beat fellow-Spaniard Pere Riba 6-2, 3-6, 6-2 and third-seeded Gilles Simon of France lost 6-7 (5/7), 3-6 to Carlos Berlocq of Argentina. It was the second consecutive tournament that Berlocq eliminated Simon after the Frenchman had lost in the second round of the Copa Claro last week.
“I played a great match and I’m happy with my performance today,” Berlocq said. “Last week, I had played a perfect match against him. Today it was tougher because of the heat, which was incredible.”
Sixth-seeded Juan Monaco of Argentina retired with heat exhaustion while losing 6-7 (2/7), 3-5 to Albert Ramos of Spain. Albert Montanes of Spain also had to retire in his match against No. 4 seed Kei Nishikori of Japan, who was winning 6-2, 4-1.
Eighth-seeded Fernando Verdasco of Spain needed 56 minutes to rout Filippo Volandri of Italy 6-0, 6-2. Swiss player Stanislas Wawrinka had 10 aces in his 2-6, 6-3, 6-4 victory against Juan Carlos Ferrero of Spain. Six of Wawrinka’s aces came in the decisive set.
In the women’s side, top-seeded Roberta Vinci of Italy had eight aces in her 6-2, 7-6 (7/5) victory over Silvia Soler-Espinosa of Spain.
Fellow Italian Flavia Pennetta, the No. 2 seed, ousted Arantxa Parra Santonja of Spain 6-4, 6-2, while third-seeded Sara Errani, also of Italy, trounced the US’ Irina Falconi 6-1, 6-1.
The Mexican Open is the fourth ATP Tour 500 tournament of the season. Nine of the top 30 men in the world are playing.
DELRAY BEACH
AP, DELRAY BEACH, Florida
Top-seeded John Isner outlasted fellow American Jesse Levine 6-4, 7-5 (15) on Tuesday in their first-round match at the Delray Beach International Tennis Championships.
In another first-round match, Jarkko Nieminen of Finland, ranked 43rd, beat second-seeded Marin Cilic of Croatia 6-3, 3-6, 6-2.
Isner barely held off a tenacious Levine, who is ranked No. 133 in the world and needed a wildcard entry into the main draw.
Levine trailed the 11th-ranked Isner throughout the tiebreaker. The match ended when Levine’s backhand hit the top of the net and carried long, putting Isner into the second round.
“I served very well and to be honest I was very lucky to win it,” said Isner, who had 13 aces. “To be honest, if I lost that second set I didn’t really fancy my chances in the third because the humidity was getting to me.”
Nieminen has already won a title this year at Sydney, while Cilic was playing his first match of the season. The 21st-ranked Cilic has been nursing a left knee injury and this was his first match since November last year.
Known for a big serve, Cilic racked up nine aces — but he was streaky. His first-serve percentage was only 48 percent.
“It was my first match for a while and it felt a little bit awkward I would say,” Cilic said. “I played some moments pretty good, but I think my fitness level, not great ... I expected that to happen.”
Also during the day session, fifth seed Philipp Kohlschreiber of Germany defeated Olivier Rochus 6-1, 6-4. Latvian Ernests Gulbis, the 2010 Delray Beach champion, beat Alejandro Falla of Colombia, 6-4, 6-1. And Belgium’s Xavier Malisse, a two-time Delray Beach champion, scored a 7-6 (7/3), 6-3 win over Guillermo Garcia-Lopez of Spain.
Fourth seed Andy Roddick, making his first visit to the Delray Beach tournament since 2003, beat Philipp Petzschner of Germany in his opening match 4-6, 6-4, 6-1.
Additional reporting by staff writer
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