Simon takes first-round win at Valencia

VALENCIA, Spain, April 9 (UPI) -- Fifth-seeded Gilles Simon rallied for a first-round victory Monday in the $470,000 Valencia Open tennis tournament in Spain.

Simon posted a 4-6, 6-3, 6-2 win over Teimuraz Gabashvili in one of three matches that opened the Valencia ATP stop. Simon is looking to return to the event finals for a second consecutive year. He dropped the title match to Nicolas Almagro last year.

In other matches Monday, Stefan Koubek swept past Oscar Hernandez, 7-6 (7-5) 6-4, and Sergio Roitman beat Jan Hernych, 7-5, 7-6 (9-7).

Spaniards David Ferrer, Juan Carlos Ferrero Almagro and Fernando Verdasco are the top seeds for the Valencia Open.