27 March 2004	Saturday	05 Safar 1425

MIAMI, March 26: Vince Spadea needed seven hours and 10 minutes to dispose of fellow American James Blake in the first round of the Nasdaq-100 Open on Thursday.

Spadea, who won his first title in 223 attempts three weeks ago in Scottsdale, outlasted Blake 6-7 (12-14) 7-6 (7-4) 6-1 in the Masters Series event.

The pair were locked together at 5-5 in the first set when showers sent spectators at the Crandon Park Tennis Centre scuttling for cover. The rain kept the players in the locker room for four hours and 51 minutes and meant the match did not eventually finish until 2235 local time.

Blake took the first set on a marathon tiebreak when the contest resumed and he looked an odds-on favourite to go through when he served for the match in the second. But Spadea hit back to level the match before running away with the deciding set. Nicolas Lapentti of Ecuador and Sweden's Thomas Enqvist also endured a frustrating time.

First they were delayed overnight by a power cut and then the two players were caught up in Thursday's rain delay. Lapentti finally progressed 7-5 2-6 6-4 nearly 24 hours after they started playing.

Before the heavens opened, American Taylor Dent bulldozed his way past Russia's Mikhail Youzhny 6-3 6-3.

First round results

Men: Guillermo Canas leads Tommy Haas 6-1 4-3 (play suspended due to rain); Nicolas Lapentti bt Thomas Enqvist 7-5 2-6 6-4; Todd Reid bt Flavio Saretta 6-4 6-4; Vince Spadea bt James Blake 6-7 (12-14) 7-6 (7-4) 6-1; Lars Burgsmuller bt Jan-Michael Gambill 7-5 6-4; Bohdan Ulihrach bt Gilles Muller 6-4 7-5; David Sanchez bt Luis Horna 6-4 6-4; Ricardo Mello bt Jeff Salzenstein 7-6 (7-3) 7-6 (8-6); Karol Beck bt Victor Hanescu 6-1 6-3; Radek Stepanek bt Sargis Sargsian 6-3 6-4; Taylor Dent bt Mikhail Youzhny 6-3 6-3

Women: Jie Zheng bt Sandra Kleinova 6-4 6-0; Viktoriya Kutuzova bt Marissa Irvin 6-3 6-4; Amy Frazier bt Cara Black 6-4 6-2; Maria Diaz-Oliva bt Anca Barna 6-4 5-7 6-1; Barbora Strycova bt Samantha Reeves 7-6 (7-3) 6-3; Mara Santangelo bt Martina Sucha 3-6 6-0 6-4; Tatiana Perebiynis bt Laura Granville 6-3 7-6 (8-6); Tamarine Tanasugarn bt Virginia Ruano Pascual 6-1 6-3. -Reuters