Clijsters Comeback Today; Rubin Pulls at WTA Memphis

The only other seed in action, No. 6 Nikolay Davydenko, escaped 6-4 in the third against Spain's Fernando "Hot Sauce" Verdasco.

Unseeded players into round two in Rotterdam Monday were former No. 1 Juan Carlos Ferrero (d. Rainer "Shine" Schuettler), Czech Tomas Berdych (d. Soderling), Paradorn "The Thai Fighter" Srichaphan (d. Andreev in three, setting up a meeting with Coria), and Swedish vet Thomas "Tommy the J." Johansson (d. Beck 6-1 in the third).

For Ferrero the win ended a two-match losing streak.

"Last week in Marseille, I could never find my rhythm against (Joachim) Johansson because of his serve. But I practiced very well last week and got some great rhythm today," said Ferrero, defending runner-up points from last year in Rotterdam. "I'm going to fight like last year and I expect to have a good tournament." 

Scheduled for Tuesday in the land of wooden shoes are Llodra vs. (WC) Peter "Nuclear" Wessels, Stepanek vs. (4) Nalbandian, (3) Henman vs. Kiefer, Mario "Baby Goran" Ancic vs. Dent, and (Q) Olivier "The Roach" Rochus vs. (8) Feliciano "F-Lo" Lopez.

Fish, Beast Edge Third-Set Breakers at ATP Memphis

Some threats but no upsets at the ATP stop in Memphis on opening day, with seeds (6) Mardy Fish (d. Blake 7-6 in the third) and (8) Max "The Beast" Mirnyi (d. (WC) Baker 7-6 in the third) edging into the second round.

Fish squandered six match points, then fought off a match point before finally defeating his friend and doubles partner.

"We had hoped it was going to be a final instead of a first round," Fish said. "I felt like some of the tennis out there, at times, was really good quality. I don't feel like I played a bad match at all. And I really don't feel that I played some of those games I lost at the end on my serve very poorly at all."

Un-seeds into the second round were smokin'-eh? Canadian qualifier Frank "You Can" Dancevic (d. Lu), Denmark's Kenneth Carlsen (d. Carraz 7-6 in the third), France's Anthony Dupuis (d. Jeff "Baby Krajicek" Morrison in two tiebreaks), and American Kevin Kim (d. countryman (WC) Jenkins 7-6 in the third).

"In tight situations, I've learned that getting one more ball in play and mixing it up tends to throw off a player," Kim said of edging the former junior champ Jenkins. "I knew in the back of my mind that he might get tight. I could see it. He started missing a few shots that he wasn't missing in the beginning."

On court Tuesday in Memphis are (5) Xavier "X-Man" Malisse vs. Kohlschreiber, Ginepri vs. (WC) Dailey in an all-American, (1) Roddick vs. H.-T. Lee, (1)Bryan/Bryan vs. (WC) Delic/Phillips in an all-American, (4) Novak vs. Gambill, Enqvist vs. (3) Spadea, Irakli "Freak Show" Labadze vs. Bjorkman, and Clement vs. (Q) Sanguinetti.

Seeds Chela, Costa Cruise at ATP Costa Do Sauipe

Both seeded players in action won through Monday on the dirt at the ATP stop in Costa Do Sauipe, with No. 3 Juan Ignacio Chela thumping Germany's Lars Burgsmuller with a bagel in the second, and No. 8 seed and former Roland Garros champ Al Costa outlasting Spanish countryman Oscar Hernandez, who retired at 4-4 in the third set with an ankle injury.

"The extremely humid conditions made me start very slowly, but little by little I got used to the court, got faster and more solid with my game," Chela said. "Last week in Buenos Aires was my first claycourt match since Stuttgart, five months ago. I still need to adapt to the surface but today I definitely felt much better than last week."

Costa said with his shaky mental state he was lucky to be handed the injury victory.

"It was a very weird match. I don't think I have been in such a situation before," Costa said. "I don't know who I need to thank to be in the second round here because I have no confidence and no rhythm at the moment."

Un-seeds into the second round Monday were Argentina's Agustin Calleri (d. Starace 1-and-1), France's Paul-Henri Mathieu (d. D.Sanchez, bagel in the second), and Spain's Santiago Ventura (d. countryman Almagro 6-1 in the third).

Two more members of the Argentine Army were added to the main draw with the completion of the qualifying in Edgardo Massa and Martin Vassallo Arguello, joined by Juan Antonio "Cheech" Marin (CRC) and Pete Luczak (AUS).

On tap for Tuesday on the dirt are (Q) Luczak vs. (2) Fernando "Gonzo" Gonzalez, Flavio "Of the Day" Saretta vs. (Q) Massa, Ricardo Mello "Yello" vs. Montanes, Acasuso vs. (6) Rafael "The Prodigy" Nadal, (WC) Corretja vs. (5) Ferrer in an all-ESP, (WC) Silva vs. (WC) Sa in an all-Brazilian, (7) Zabaleta vs. Puerta in an all-Argentine, A.Martin vs. (4) Volandri, (LL) Guillermo "G-Lo" Garcia-Lopez vs. Juan "The Principality" Monaco, Mantilla vs. (Q) Vassallo Arguello, and (Q) Marin vs. Calatrava.

Schnyder Sweeps Into Second Round at WTA Antwerp

Only two main draw matches at the WTA stop in Antwerp Monday, with No. 7 seed Patty Schnyder defeating Czech Denisa Chladkova, and Maggie Maleeva winning the unseeded battle with Tathiana Garbin, both in straight sets.

The final round of qualifying was also completed with the final four spots in the main draw filled by Ana Ivanovic (SCG), Camille Pin (FRA), Katarina Srebotnik (SLO), and Anna Chakvetadze (RUS).

On court Tuesday in Antwerp are Sprem vs. Chakvetadze, Koukalova vs. Dechy, Petrova vs. Medina Garrigues, Kim Clijsters making her 2005 debut and return from a wrist injury vs. Kostanic, Benesova vs. Pierce, Pin vs. Marrero, Camerin vs. Srebotnik, and Ivanovic vs. Razzano.

Washington Washes Out at WTA Memphis

No. 5 seed Mashona Washington, sister of former Wimbledon finalist MaliVai Washington, was upset Monday at the WTA stop in Memphis, defeated in straight sets by American countrywoman Abigail Spears.

"It just wasn't there today," Washington said. "A player like Abigail is going to step into every ball and hit it with all her weight and force, so you have to be somewhat on. She's been playing well."

Also on the upset block was No. 4 seed Martina Sucha, ousted in straight sets by Japan's Akiko Morigami.

Seeded winners on the day were (7) Nicole Vaidisova (d. Lee-Waters) and (8) Evgenia Linetskaya (d. (LL) Gallovits).

"Every time I go out on the court, I expect a tough match," the next-in-line Czech teen Vaidisova said. "You have to be ready for anything because any opponent can have a good day. I think (Lee-Waters) is a good player, but I didn't give her many chances to play well."

Unseeded winners into the second round Monday were France's Severine Beltrame (d. Osterloh 6-1 in the third), Puerto Rico's Kristina Brandi (d. (Q) Hopkins, bagel in the second), American qualifier Angela Haynes (d. countrywoman Irvin in three), and Czech Hana Sromova (d. Craybas in three).

Chanda Rubin withdrew from the field Monday with a recurring knee injury.

"I was really looking forward to playing here after being off for a few months," Rubin said. "I'm just not ready physically to play. I came four to five days early to train here so I'm very disappointed that I'm not able to play. I hope to come back next year and compete in Memphis again."

On tap for Tuesday are Granville vs. (3) Shaughnessy in an all-American, (1) Zvonareva vs. Pastikova, McCain vs. Krajicek, (Q) Bohmova vs. (Q) Yoshida, Karatantcheva vs. Jackson, and Ant. Serra Zanetti vs. Cho.

Spaniards, Argentines Get Dirty at WTA Bogota

Spanish No. 4 seed Maria Sanchez Lorenzo edged Russian Lioudmila Skavronskaia 7-5 in the third, while No. 6 seed Arantxa Parra Santonja was not so lucky Monday at the WTA dirt stop in Bogota Monday, receiving a thumping from countrywoman Conchita Martinez Granados 6-2, 6-2.

Two unseeded Argentines moved into the second round in wildcard Clarisa Fernandez (d. Garcia) and Mariana Diaz-Oliva (d. (WC) Torres Sandoval), joined by Swiss Emmanuelle Gagliardi (d. Pisnik).

The final round of qualifying was also completed on the clay, with four more onto the main draw in Agnes Szavay (HUN), Lourdes Dominguez Lino (ESP), Aleksandra Wozniak (CAN), and Vanina Garcia Sokol (ARG).

On court Tuesday are Piedade vs. Pennetta, Zuluaga vs. Pelletier, Castano vs. Wozniak, Pous Tio vs. Dominguez Lino, Strycova vs. Garcia Sokol, Alves vs. Perebiynis, Salerni vs. Birnerova, and Gubacsi vs. Castellvi.

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