Rains ease, Blake advances at Delray Beach

DELRAY BEACH, Fla., Feb. 13 (UPI) -- It took two days to do so, but James Blake completed a first-round victory Wednesday at the Delray Beach International Tennis Championships.

Rains have disrupted the tournament's schedule with showers falling throughout Tuesday and for much of Wednesday.

Blake began his match against Robert Kendrick on Tuesday and was leading 3-2 in the first set when the rains came. Blake finished off a 7-5, 7-5 decision Wednesday as he attempts to reach the final of this event for the second straight year.

Sam Querrey moved on to the second round with a 6-1, 6-4 decision over Yuri Schukin in a match that also was spread over two days.

Florian Mayer, the fifth seed, retired in his match against Kei Nishikori and Vincent Spadea was a 6-3, 6-4 winner over Denis Gremelmayr.