Colombia’s Santiago Giraldo defeated compatriot Carlos Salamanca 6-2, 6-4 at the Claro Open Colombia on Monday in the return of an ATP Tour event to his home country after 11 years, while Taiwan’s Jimmy Wang fell at the first hurdle, as Australia’s Matthew Ebden won their match 6-1, 2-6, 6-1.
Sixth seed Giraldo and Salamanca were two of six Colombians in the singles draw at the tournament, which was added to the ATP schedule after a Colombian group bought the sanction to the long-running ATP tournament in Los Angeles last year.
Fifth seed Adrian Mannarino of France defeated Colombian wild-card Alejandro Gonzalez 6-4, 0-6, 6-4, overcoming a second-set lapse in which he won just one point on serve.
Photo: AFP
Top seed Serbia’s Janko Tipsarevic has a first-round bye in the hard-court event.
Bogota previously held an ATP tournament from 1997 to 2002.
GERMAN CHAMPIONSHIPS
AP, HAMBURG, Germany
Daniel Brands advanced to a second-round match against top seed Roger Federer at the German Championships by beating Paolo Lorenzi 7-5, 6-3 on Monday.
Federer is seeking his fifth title in Hamburg, where he won his first tournament title in 2002 and broke into the top 10.
The 17-time Grand Slam champion entered the event after his early elimination at Wimbledon.
Federer said Brands “can serve super and plays constantly,” and vowed not to underestimate the German.
Brands said he has “nothing to lose” and is going to “enjoy it.”
Like all seeded players, Federer had a bye into the second round.
Other winners on Monday included Spanish pair Albert Montanes and Roberto Bautista Agut.
SWEDISH OPEN
AP, BASTAD, Sweden
Lourdes Dominguez Lino beat Anabel Medina Garrigues 6-1, 6-1 in an all-Spanish match in the first round of the Swedish Open on Monday.
Italy’s Flavia Penneta beat Mariana Duque-Marino of Colombia 6-1, 4-6, 6-4 to advance to the second round of the clay-court tournament in Bastad on Sweden’s west coast.
France’s Virginie Razzano upset seventh seed Silvia Soler-Espinosa of Spain 7-5, 6-1, while Spain’s Arantxa Parra Santonja rallied past Alla Kudryavtseva of Russia 2-6, 6-4, 7-5 and Johanna Larsson also qualified for the second round after beating fellow Swede Sofia Arvidsson 6-1, 6-1.
Top seed Serena Williams was set to play her first game yesterday against Sesil Karatancheva of Kazakhstan.
STANFORD CLASSIC
AFP, STANFORD, California
World No. 2 Maria Sharapova pulled out of next week’s WTA Tour Stanford Classic with a nagging hip injury.
Sharapova’s withdrawal on Monday has robbed the tournament of one of its biggest names. The Russian suffered the left-hip injury at Wimbledon last month.
“We understand that a player’s health must always come first,” tournament director Kim Hall said.
Hall also said Belgium’s Kirsten Flipkens, who is ranked 15th, had pulled out. Officials did not give a reason for Flipkens’ withdrawal.
With the loss of Sharapova, the top draws in the event now include recently crowned Wimbledon champion Marion Bartoli and world No. 4 Agnieszka Radwanska.
Former US Open champion Samantha Stosur of Australia and 2010 French Open winner Francesca Schiavone are also in the field.
Sharapova and Flipkens will be replaced in the 28-player draw by world No. 46 Daniela Hantuchova and Christina McHale, who is ranked 79th.
Additional reporting by staff writer
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