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Ferrero, Murray win Monte Carlo openers

Mon 21st, April 2008

Monte Carlo, Monaco (Sports Network) - Former world No. 1 Spaniard Juan Carlos Ferrero and rising Brit Andy Murray were among Monday's first-round winners at the $3.57 million Masters Series Monte Carlo. This marks the third of nine Masters Series events this season.

The 13th-seeded Ferrero came from behind to beat improving Frenchman Michael Llodra 6-7 (5-7), 6-1, 6-1, while a 14th-seeded Murray handled Spaniard Feliciano Lopez 7-6 (7-5), 6-4 on the red clay at Monte Carlo Country Club. Ferrero titled here back-to-back in 2002 and 2003.

A mild Day-2 upset came when Serbian Janko Tipsarevic tripped up ninth-seeded Frenchman Paul-Henri Mathieu 6-4, 2-6, 6-3.

Playing his last match in Monte Carlo, former top-ranked star and former three-time French Open champion Gustavo Kuerten came up a loser at the hands of Croatian Ivan Ljubicic, who prevailed 6-1, 6-2. "Guga," who will retire from the ATP after the upcoming 2008 French Open, was the Monte Carlo champion back in 1999 and 2001.

The Brazilian Kuerten entered the draw as a wild card this week.

Ljubicic will face third-seeded Australian Open champion Novak Djokovic of Serbia in the second round.

France's Gael Monfils topped Spaniard Fernando Verdasco 7-5, 6-4; Swede Robin Soderling held off Czech Radek Stepanek 6-4, 6-7 (6-8), 6-3; Belgian qualifier Olivier Rochus dismissed oft-injured German Tommy Haas 6-1, 3-0; American Sam Querrey doused former No. 1 Spaniard Carlos Moya 6-3, 1-6, 6-3; and Belgian qualifier Kristof Vliegen erased veteran Frenchman Fabrice Santoro, who's making his final appearance in Monte Carlo, 7-6 (7-4), 6-1. Moya captured this tournament back in 1998 and was the runner-up in 2002. Only former Austrian stalwart Thomas Muster (29-7) has won more matches than Moya (26-12) in Monte Carlo since 1990.

Other opening-round wins came for Italian Filippo Volandri, German Philipp Kohlschreiber, Ecuadoran qualifier Nicolas Lapentti and Croatian wild card Mario Ancic, who will tangle with reigning three-time Monte Carlo titlist Rafael Nadal in the round of 32 here.

The reigning three-time French Open champion Nadal, seeded second this week, defeated world No. 1 Roger Federer in the last two finals here. Federer is on hand as the top seed this week, after titling in Estoril last week.

This week's top-eight seeds all received opening-round byes.

The 2008 Monte Carlo titlist will collect $570,000.

Where the players come to play and STAY.