PRO TENNIS ROUNDUP

Stockholm Open

STOCKHOLM

James Blake made it through to the second round after coming from behind to beat seventh-seeded Thomaz Bellucci 3-6, 6-4, 6-4 on Tuesday. Bellucci broke an error-prone Blake twice in the first set. Blake found his rhythm in the second, breaking Bellucci in the fifth game and holding serve. The American wild card, who won the Stockholm Open in 2005 and 2006, eventually prevailed after breaking Bellucci in the ninth game of a closely-fought final set. Taylor Dent will face top-seeded Roger Federer in the second round, after Michal Przysiezny had to retire from their match with an ankle injury. Dent was leading 6-2. It was a disappointing day for Spain’s seeded players, with Tommy Robredo and Feliciano Lopez both losing. Florian Mayer brushed aside sixth-seeded Lopez in only 55 minutes 6-2, 6-2. Eighth-seeded Robredo was swept by Croatian qualifier Ivan Dodig 6-3, 6-2, in little more than an hour.

Kremlin Cup

MOSCOW

Third-seeded Li Na and fifth-seeded Flavia Pennetta were eliminated in the first round. The 11th-ranked Li lost 6-4, 6-2 to 2006 champion Anna Chakvetadze, while Pennetta was eliminated by another Russian, Elena Vesnina, 6-4, 2-6, 6-2. Victoria Azarenka, who qualified for the championships last season, will play Andrea Petkovic in the second round. Petkovic rallied to beat Olga Govortsova 0-6, 7-5, 6-0. Seventh-seeded Alisa Kleybanova reached the second round with a 6-2, 6-7 (4), 7-6 (1) win over Lucie Safarova. In the men’s first round, Radek Stepanek beat Victor Hanescu 7-6 (5), 6-3. Andrey Golubev advanced with a 6-3, 6-2 win over Maximo Gonzalez . Three-time champion Nikolay Davydenko tops the men’s draw. Jelena Jankovic, who won in 2008, is the top-seeded woman.

Associated Press