Lapentti withdraws from BellSouth Open

VINA DEL MAR, Chile, Feb. 11 (UPI) -- The BellSouth Open tennis tournament lost one of its top seeds Monday and received a scare from another one.

No. 2 seed Nicolas Lapentti withdrew from the $320,000 claycourt event with a back injury. He was replaced by lucky loser Ruben Ramirez Hidalgo of Spain.

Fifth-seeded Agustin Calleri followed Lapentti out after getting "bageled" in the first set against Cecil Mamiit, but he recovered for a 0-6, 6-3, 6-4 victory. It was the first win of the season for the Argentine, who was a first-round loser at Auckland and the Australian Open.

"I didn't have any confidence at the start of the match," Calleri said. "I have to work on that. Although it took me three or four match points to close out that match, hopefully it will give my confidence a boost."

Seventh seed Felix Mantilla of Spain and countryman David Ferrer, the eighth seed, had an easier time of things.

Mantilla improved to 7-3 on the year with a 6-1, 6-4 victory over fellow Spaniard Alberto Martin, while Ferrer crushed Alex Kim of the United States, 6-2, 6-3.

"It's always tough to play another Spaniard, but the result showed I played a good match," Mantilla said. "I feel like I am going to have a good year. If I stay free of injury, the results should come."

Also, Jiri Vanek of the Czech Republic beat Attila Savolt, 7-6 (10-8), 6-3; Italy's Andrea Gaudenzi rallied past Markus Hipfl of Austria, 4-6, 6-3, 6-0; and Albert Montanes of Spain topped Chilean wild card Julio Peralta, 7-5, 6-4.