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HOUSTON, April 11: Defending champion Mardy Fish needed a third-set rally to defeat Martin Vassallo Arguello 5-7, 6-2, 7-5 in the first round of the US Clay Court Championships on Tuesday.
Fish dropped his serve twice to give the Argentine a 3-0 lead in the final set, but won the next three games to put the game back on serve.
The fourth-seeded American sealed the win by breaking Arguello in the final game.
Fish will next face Argentine qualifier Mariano Zabaleta, who stopped 19-year-old American wild card Ryan Sweeting 6-0, 7-6.
Spain's Albert Montanes, denied a first-round match against top seed Andy Roddick when the three-times champion withdrew with a hamstring injury, advanced to the second round with a 6-3, 6-2 win over Austrian lucky loser Alexander Peya.
Tuesday’s results (prefix number denotes seeding):
First round: Vince Spadea (US) beat 7-Robby Ginepri (US) 6-3, 3-6, 6-3; 2-James Blake (US) beat Davide Sanguinetti (Italy) 6-3, 6-0; 5-Juergen Melzer (Austria) beat Rainer Schuettler (Germany) 6-2, 3-6, 6-1; Michael Russell (US) beat Paul Goldstein (US) 6-2, 6-0; Amer Delic (US) beat Robert Kendrick (US) 6-3, 1-6, 7-5; 4-Mardy Fish (U.S.) beat Martin Vassallo Arguello (Argentina) 5-7, 6-2, 7-5; Dusan Vemic (Serbia) beat Ruben Ramirez Hidalgo (Spain) 6-3, 6-0; Mariano Zabaleta (Argentina) beat Ryan Sweeting (US) 6-0, 7-6 (10-8); Albert Montanes (Spain) beat Alexander Peya (Austria) 6-3, 6-2.
CHARLESTON (South Carolina): Top seed Nicole Vaidisova was dumped out of the Family Circle Cup on Tuesday in a second-round loss to Michaella Krajicek.
The 17-year-old Czech took the first set before losing 4-6, 6-4, 6-3 to her Dutch opponent, ranked 54 in the world.
The tournament, already hit by a series of injury withdrawals, lost another big name after third seed Serena Williams retired from her match with Taiwan's Chan Yung-jan with a right groin strain.
The Australian Open champion was trailing 5-3 in the first set when she decided she could not continue.
Her sister Venus, meanwhile, looked sharp cruising past Samantha Stosur 6-2, 6-2 in a first-round match. Unseeded Williams blew away the Australian doubles specialist, seeded 14th here, with 120 mph serves on the green clay.
The former world number one is returning to form after missing four months through injury.
World number 19 Tatiana Golovin, who defeated Nadia Petrova last week in the Amelia Island final, was hampered by a blister on her toe but still managed to beat Dominika Cibulkova of Slovakia 6-4, 6-1.
Also on Tuesday, Francesca Schiavone of Italy advanced after her opponent Virginia Ruano Pascual of Spain retired with a back injury.
Virginie Razzano of France defeated Meghann Shaughnessy of the US 6-3, 6-4, Sybille Bammer of Austria rolled by Alicia Molik of Australia 6-3, 6-1 and Katarina Srebotnik of Slovenia beat Ukrainian Julia Vakulenko 1-6, 6-2, 6-4.
Tuesday’s results:
Second round: 8-Li Na (China) beat Nicole Pratt (Australia) 6-1, 6-4; Chan Yung-jan (Taiwan) beat 3-Serena Williams (US) 5-3 – Williams retired; Michaella Krajicek (Netherlands) beat 1-Nicole Vaidisova (Czech Republic) 4-6, 6-4, 6-3.
First round: Eleni Daniilidou (Greece) beat Romina Oprandi (Italy) 3-6, 7-6 (7-5), 6-4; Anabel Medina Garringues (Spain) beat Martina Mueller (Germany) 6-3, 7-6 (7-4); Venus Williams (US) beat 14-Samantha Stosur (Australia) 6-2, 6-2; 16-Mara Santangelo (Italy) beat Tamarine Tanasugarn (Thailand) 7-5, 6-1; 10-Tatiana Golovin (France) beat Dominika Cibulkova (Slovakia) 6-4, 6-1; 15-Sybille Bammer (Austria) beat Alicia Molik (Australia) 6-3, 6-1; Gisela Dulko (Argentina) beat Julia Schruff (Germany) 1-6, 6-4, 6-4; 12-Katarina Srebotnik (Slovenia) beat Julia Vakulenko; (Ukraine) 1-6, 6-2, 6-4 Virginie Razzano (France) beat Meghann Shaughnessy (US) 6-3, 6-4; 11-Francesca Schiavone (Italy) beat Virginia Ruano (Spain) 6-2, 2-0 – Ruano retired.—Reuters
