Top-Seeded Spadea Avoids Rain of Upsets at ATP Delray Beach

Top-Seeded Verdasco One and Done at ATP Bucharest

No. 39-ranked Fernando "Hot Sauce" Verdasco is not used to being the top seed at an ATP event, but after Tuesday that wasn't a worry after the Spaniard was ousted in his opening-round match by Romanian home-country hero Victor Hanescu at the ATP stop in Bucharest.

"What can I say? I am very happy because all the crowd was with me and it is a big pleasure to win here in Bucharest," Hanescu said. "It is special because everybody wants to win here and everybody supports me."

The three other seeds in action all advanced in (2) Florian "Oscar" Mayer (d. Van Scheppingen), (6) David Ferrer (d. (Q) Wawrinka), and (7) Filippo Volandri (d. Montanes).

Unseeded winners on the dirt were qualifiers Richard Gasquet of France (d. "You Say" Potito Starace) and Serb Novak Djokovic (d. Clement 6-4 in the third in a shocker), Austrian Stefan Koubek (d. (WC) Ionita), Argentine Jose Acasuso (d. countryman (Q) Franco "The Squirrel" Squillari), Spaniard Alex Calatrava (d. Juan "The Principality" Monaco), and Germany's Philipp Kohlschreiber (d. (WC) Sabau).

On court Wednesday are Kohlschreiber vs. (4) Andreev, Acasuso vs. (8) Sanchez, Mathieu vs. Corretja in a big test for the Spaniard's flagging career, and an all-Spanish in Mantilla vs. Calatrava.

Dent Into Second Round at Rainy ATP Beijing

Only two matches completed in Beijing Tuesday due to rain, with (7) Taylor "Making a" Dent (d. (Q) Luczak) and Israel's Noam Okun (d. (Q) Parmar) into the second round.

Dent rained 16 aces on the qualifier.

"When I serve well I'm tough to beat," Dent said. "These conditions suit my game." Humid hardcourts?

Dent says he is planning on playing the men's Beijing Challenger at the site next week to spend time with girlfriend Jennifer Hopkins who plays in the WTA Beijing event beginning on Monday.

One match was left stranded with the rains, with Russia's Mikhail Youzhny leading Ivo "I Dated Hingis" Heuberger 7-5, 2-4 when the match was suspended.

Wednesday's backed-up schedule is Justin "Time" Gimelstob vs. (2) Ferrero, Lisnard vs. (6) Paradorn "The Thai Fighter" Srichaphan, (5) Marat "The Russian Tank" Safin vs. Bogomolov Jr., (1) Moya vs. (Q) Tsonga, Youzhny vs. Heuberger (to finish), (WC) Wang Jr. vs. (8) Dominik "The Dominator" Hrbaty, Pless vs. (3) Nalbandian, (LL) P.Amritraj vs. (WC) Lu, Burgsmuller vs. K.Kim, Glenn "I.C." Weiner vs. H.-T. Lee, and (Q) Healey vs. Sanguinetti.

Struggling Seed Vento-Kabchi Booted in Bali

The seeds went 0-for-1 Tuesday at the WTA stop in Bali, with the visibly out-of-shape (6) Maria Vento-Kabchi losing in straight sets to Korea's Yoon Jeong Cho.

Qualifiers were 1-for-2 on the day, with Aussie San Stosur defeating Milagros Sequera in straights, with the losers Mariana Diaz-Oliva (l. to Barna in three) and Marta Domachowska (l. to Weingartner).

Other un-seeds into the second round were Flavia "Of the Day" Pennetta (d. Pratt), and Marion Bartoli (d. Anabel "Funky Cold" Medina Garrigues).

Wednesday's line-up in Bali is Sugiyama vs. Nakamura in an all-Japanese, Rubin vs. Garbin in an all-"bin," Jankovic vs. Widjaja, Morigami vs. Petrova, Brandi vs. Cho, and Flavia "Of the Day" Pennetta vs. Gisela "Sgt." Dulko.

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