Blake wins first-round match at LA

LOS ANGELES, July 28 (UPI) -- James Blake of the United States won for the first time since March, beating Argentine Leonardo Mayer in the first round of the Farmers Classic in Los Angeles.

Blake, who returned to tennis last month after a knee injury, beat Mayer 6-1, 6-4, in 65 minutes. Blake won three of his 10 break point chances and prevailed in all five of the breaks he faced on serve.

"I went into the match with the goal of just controlling my side of the court and playing with the right kind of energy," he said.

Also advancing to the second round Tuesday was Robby Ginepri, who beat Ilija Bozoljac 6-3, 6-4.

Benjamin Becker took a tight 7-5, 7-6 (8-6) win over Giovanni Lapentti. Becker had been scheduled to play eighth-seeded Mardy Fish Tuesday, but the American pulled out earlier in the day, citing fatigue from a recent string in which he's won two tournament and his last 10 matches.

In Tuesday's other first-round matches, Tim Smyczek stopped Teymuraz Gabashvili 6-2, 6-3; Alejandro Falla ousted Karol Beck 7-6 (7-3), 6-4; and Somdev Devvarman was a 6-4, 6-4 winner over Steve Johnson.

Also, Ryan Sweeting prevailed 2-6, 6-3, 6-4 over Kristof Vliegen in the only match of the day that went three sets; and Kevin Anderson beat Illya Marchenko 6-3, 6-2.