Ludmilla blog

Defending champ Verdasco advances at ATP San Jose

SAN JOSE, California (AFP) – Top seed and defending champion Fernando Verdasco of Spain breezed into the second round of $600,000 SAP Open ATP hardcourt tournament.

Verdasco rolled over US wild card Rajeev Ram 6-3, 6-2 in 61 minutes to book a second-round match Thursday against Croatian Ivo Karlovic, who smashed 19 aces in defeating American Ryan Sweeting 6-4, 6-4.

Frenchman Gael Monfils, the second seed, was set to face US wild card Bradley Klahn in a later match with the winner to meet American Robert Kendrick in the second round. Kendrick ousted Russia's Igor Kunitsyn 7-5, 3-6, 6-4.

Lithuania's Richard Berankis won the final five games to outlast American Donald Young 6-4, 5-7, 7-5 and become the event's first quarter-finalist.

Young, a 21-year-old US southpaw ranked 146th in the world, led 5-2 in the third set and served for the match in the ninth game but surrendered the last of his six double faults and was eventually broken.

Berankis, a 20-year-old who is down one spot from his career-best ranking of 73rd set last week, broke again for a 6-5 edge and held to finish off Young after two hours and 23 minutes.

Berankis will next face Canada's Milos Raonic, who ousted US veteran James Blake 6-2, 7-6 (7/4).

Last year at San Jose, Berankis came through qualifying to become the first Lithuanian to reach an ATP quarter-final before falling to Verdasco.