Advertisement

Almagro, Tsonga open Monte Carlo with wins

Spaniard Nicolas Almagro pauses between points during his French Open quarterfinal match against Spaniard Rafael Nadal at Roland Garros in Paris on June 2, 2010. Nadal defeated Almagro 7-6(2), 7-6(3), 6-4. UPI/David Silpa
Spaniard Nicolas Almagro pauses between points during his French Open quarterfinal match against Spaniard Rafael Nadal at Roland Garros in Paris on June 2, 2010. Nadal defeated Almagro 7-6(2), 7-6(3), 6-4. UPI/David Silpa | License Photo

MONTE CARLO, Monaco, April 11 (UPI) -- Clay-court specialist Nicolas Almagro defeated fellow Spaniard Marcel Granollers Monday in the first round of the Monte Carlo Masters in Monaco.

Almagro, seeded ninth, eased by Granollers 6-3, 6-3 as he begins his hunt for his third title on clay courts this season.

Advertisement

Also winning Monday was Jo-Wilfried Tsonga, who rebounded from a 4-6 loss in the opening set to knock off Argentine Juan Monaco by taking the next two sets 6-3, 6-2. Tsonga, a former Australian Open runner-up who was born in France and lives in Switzerland, is seeded 12th.

In other Monday matches, German Florian Mayer upset 10th-seeded Russian Mikhail Youzhny 6-3, 2-6, 6-3; No. 11 Serb Viktor Troicki eliminated French wild card Jean-Rene Lisnard 7-6 (7-4), 6-1; No. 13 Frenchman Richard Gasquet defeated Uzbekistan's Denis Istomin 5-7, 6-3, 6-4; No. 15 Croat Marin Cilic breezed by Italian qualifier Filippo Volandri 6-2, 6-1.

Also winning in the first round were Belgian qualifier Olivier Rochus, Czech wild card Radek Stepanek, Finn Jarkko Nieminen, Portuguese qualifier Frederico Gil, Spaniards Daniel Gimeno-Traver and Tommy Robredo, and Dutchman Robin Haase.

Monte Carlo, which offers a $625,000 pay day for the winner, is the third ATP Masters event of the year. Rafael Nadal, the defending champion and a six-time winner here, is this week's top seed. Roger Federer is the No. 2 seed.

Advertisement

Latest Headlines