MIAMI, March 21: James Blake advanced to the second round of the Sony Open with a 6-2, 6-2 win over fellow American Ryan Harrison on Wednesday night.
The 33-year-old Blake, a former top-10 player now ranked 95th and playing her on a wild card entry, was far more active than the 20-year-old Harrison, ranked seven spots higher, in the 57-minute match.
“It was one of those days when things are going in and right from the start I felt really good,” Blake said. “Tonight is an example of what can happen when I can put it together. I was really being aggressive and taking it to him.”
Harrison won his first two service games to take a 2-1 lead, but Blake won the next five games to take the first set. In the second set, Blake raced to a 4-1 lead.
Two-time Grand Slam winner Lleyton Hewitt also won his opening match, topping Joao Sousa of Portugal 6-1, 7-6.
Hewitt, the 32-year-old Australian who once topped the world rankings, made his first start in the event since 2009.
He has been injured much of the past three years, undergoing hip surgery and operations on his left foot, and is now ranked No 91.
In women’s play, Russia’s Svetlana Kuznetsova, the 2006 champion, beat Lourdes Dominguez Lino of Spain 6-3, 6-3 and 17-year-old Victoria Duval, a wild-card entry ranked 376th, beat 66th-ranked Andrea Hlavackova of the Czech Republic 7-6, 6-4.
Results:
Men’s singles: First round: Dmitry Tursunov (Russia) bt Tim Smyczek (US) 7-6 (7-4), 7-5; James Blake (US) bt Ryan Harrison (US) 6-2, 6-2; Dudi Sela (Israel) bt Marinko Matosevic (Australia) 6-2, 1-6, 6-4; Nikolay Davydenko (Russia) bt Paolo Lorenzi (Italy) 6-0, 2-6, 6-0; Horacio Zeballos (Argentina) bt Thiemo de Bakker (Netherlands) 6-1, 3-6, 6-3; Jurgen Melzer (Austria) bt Ricardas Berankis (Lithuania) 3-6, 6-3, 7-6 (7-1); Lleyton Hewitt (Australia) bt Joao Sousa (Portugal) 6-1 7-6 (7-3); Albert Ramos (Spain) bt Jan Hajek (Czech Republic) 6-3, 6-1; Igor Sijsling (Netherlands) bt Leonardo Mayer (Argentina) 3-2 — Mayer retired; Grega Zemlja (Slovenia) bt Roberto Bautista (Spain) 3-6, 0-0 — Bautista retired; Xavier Malisse (Belgium) bt Rajeev Ram (US) 6-4, 6-7 (6-8), 6-4; Tobias Kamke (Germany) bt Blaz Kavcic (Slovenia) 7-6 (7-5), 6-3; Michael Llodra (France) bt Benoit Paire (France) 7-6 (9-7), 6-2; Somdev Devvarman (India) bt Evgeny Donskoy (Russia) 4-6, 7-6 (7-5), 6-2; Victor Hanescu (Romania) bt Andrey Kuznetsov (Russia) 4-6, 6-3, 4-1— Kuznetsov retired; Lukas Rosol (Czech Republic) bt Gilles Muller (Luxembourg) 7-5, 6-4.
Women’s singles: First round: Bethanie Mattek-Sands (US) bt Monica Puig (Puerto Rico) 6-4, 7-5; Francesca Schiavone (Italy) bt Jana Cepelova (Slovakia) 5-7, 6-4, 6-4; Christina Mchale (US) bt Anett Kontaveit (Estonia) 6-2, 6-1; Anabel Medina Garrigues (Spain) bt Alexandra Dulgheru (Romania) 5-7, 6-4, 7-6 (7-3); Donna Vekic (Croatia) bt Yulia Putintseva (Kazakhstan) 7-6 (7-4), 6-0; Madison Keys (US) bt Allie Kiick (US) 6-0, 6-0; Zheng Jie (China) bt Yaroslava Shvedova (Kazakhstan) 7-5, 6-4; Silvia Soler Espinosa (Spain) bt Pauline Parmentier (France) 6-0, 6-7 (2-7), 6-2; Eugenie Bouchard (Canada) bt Shahar Peer (Israel) 4-6, 6-1, 6-4; Laura Robson (Britain) bt Camila Giorgi (Italy) 6-2, 4-6, 6-3; Victoria Duval (US) bt Andrea Hlavackova (Czech Republic) 7-6 (7-4), 6-4; Magdalena Rybarikova (Slovakia) bt Mallory Burdette (US) 6-2, 6-4; Simona Halep (Romania) bt Sabine Lisicki (Germany) 6-2, 3-6, 7-5; Karolina Pliskova (Czech Republic) bt Lucie Hradecka (Czech Republic) 6-2, 6-1; Urszula Radwanska (Poland) bt Annika Beck (Germany) 6-3, 6-1; Olga Govortsova (Belarus) bt Melinda Czink (Hungary) 3-6, 6-3, 6-2; Svetlana Kuznetsova (Russia) bt Lourdes Dominguez Lino (Spain) 6-3, 6-3; Romina Oprandi (Switzerland) bt Arantxa Rus (Netherlands) 6-4, 3-6, 6-3; Garbine Muguruza Blanco (Spain) bt Katerina Siniakova (Czech Republic) 6-2, 3-6, 6-4; Daniela Hantuchova (Slovakia) bt Tsvetana Pironkova (Bulgaria) 6-2, 6-4; Jamie Hampton (US) bt Monica Niculescu (Romania) 6-4, 6-3; Stefanie Voegele (Switzerland) bt Petra Martic (Croatia) 6-3, 6-3.—Agencies
