pro tennis roundup Monday’s events

Unicef Open

DEN BOSCH, Netherlands

Top-seeded Justine Henin made a successful return to grass after a three-year absence, beating Germany’s Angelique Kerber 6-4, 6-2 in the first round of the Unicef Open. Henin’s last match on the surface was a loss in the 2007 Wimbledon semifinals. She won at Den Bosch in 2001 and was the runner-up in 2003. The Belgian, who resumed her career in January after 20 months in retirement, accepted a wild card to the tuneup for Wimbledon, which begins next Monday and is the only Grand Slam tournament she hasn’t won. Serbia’s Ana Ivanovic recovered from a slow start to beat Sofia Arvidsson 4-6, 6-0, 6-1, while third-seeded Maria Kirilenko eased past Ioana Raluca Olaru 6-4, 6-1. Fifth-seeded Alexandra Dulgheru of Romania struggled to hold off French qualifier Julie Coin, 4-6, 7-6 (4), 7-6 (4), and Dutch wild card Arantxa Rus eliminated No. 8-seeded Anabel Medina Garrigues, 4-6, 6-2, 6-3. On the men’s side, Igor Sijsling of the Netherlands ousted compatriot and sixth-seeded Thiemo de Bakker 4-6, 6-2, 7-6 (4) and Belgium’s Xavier Malisse defeated Rajeev Ram of the U.S. 6-3, 6-2. The American had come into the draw as a lucky loser when fifth-seeded Philipp Petzschner withdrew with a hip injury. France’s Arnaud Clement defeated Simon Stadler of Germany, 6-1, 3-6, 6-1, and Henri Kontinen of Finland beat Jamaican qualifier Dustin Brown 7-5, 2-6, 7-6 (5).

Aegon International

EASTBOURNE, England

Australia’s Samantha Stosur, coming off a loss in the French Open final to Francesca Schiavone, defeated Melanie Oudin 6-4, 6-4 at the Aegon International. Stosur eliminated an American opponent who last year beat Jelena Jankovic at Wimbledon to reach the fourth round as a qualifier. “I was very pleased with it,” Stosur said. “Melanie had a great Wimbledon last year and obviously likes playing on grass, so to get through that one in straight sets, I’m really happy. Eighth-seeded Marion Bartoli of France struggled past Vera Dushevina of Russia 6-4, 7-5 in this Wimbledon tuneup. Among the men, third-seeded Gilles Simon of France made a successful return from a knee injury. Playing his first match since March, Simon downed Russia’s Evgeny Korolev 6-3, 6-7 (6), 6-4 for his first victory this year. American James Blake, who has dropped to No. 110 following a similar injury and absence from the tour, failed to match Simon on his comeback and was beaten 7-6 (3), 7-5 by fourth-seeded Julien Benneteau of France. Oudin dropped the opening set after losing her serve at 2-2 on a forehand error. Stosur struggled at the start of the second set, hitting five double-faults after breaking to lead 1-0. She dropped the next four games and faced a break point for 1-5 that she saved with an ace before coming back. The Australian hit three aces to make it 4-4. She made a winning volley at the net to break for 5-4 before serving out for the match. “I lost my serve and maybe started going for a little too much, and things can turn around pretty quick on grass and before you know it you’re 4-1 down,” Stosur said. “But I was able to turn it around.”

Associated Press