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Murray, Verdasco ousted at Valencia
VALENCIA, Spain, -- No. 1-seed Andy Murray and third-seeded Fernando Verdasco were beaten Wednesday in second-round play of the Valencia Open in Spain.
Juan Monaco piled up five service breaks in a 6-2, 3-6, 6-2 victory over Murray, who was the event's defending champion. Monaco won 58 percent of the points in the match, including just less than half of those off Murray's serve.
Gilles Simon handled Verdasco 6-1, 6-3 in less than an hour. Simon converted all four breakpoint situations he created and lost only 11 points over eight service games.
Eighth-seeded Gael Monfils claimed a first-round win, topping Eduardo Schwank 6-3, 6-3. Monfils, coming off a tournament win in France last week, had a pair of breaks in each set.
In other first-round matches, Marcel Granollers, taking the place of Jo-Wilfried Tsonga in the draw, advanced with a 6-2, 6-4 win over Benoit Paire and qualifier Pablo Cuevas defeated Albert Ramon-Vinolas 6-3, 6-4 without facing a break point.
Tsonga, who had been seeded seventh in Valencia, said a leg injury will keep him out of action the rest of the year.
VALENCIA, Spain, -- No. 1-seed Andy Murray and third-seeded Fernando Verdasco were beaten Wednesday in second-round play of the Valencia Open in Spain.
Juan Monaco piled up five service breaks in a 6-2, 3-6, 6-2 victory over Murray, who was the event's defending champion. Monaco won 58 percent of the points in the match, including just less than half of those off Murray's serve.
Gilles Simon handled Verdasco 6-1, 6-3 in less than an hour. Simon converted all four breakpoint situations he created and lost only 11 points over eight service games.
Eighth-seeded Gael Monfils claimed a first-round win, topping Eduardo Schwank 6-3, 6-3. Monfils, coming off a tournament win in France last week, had a pair of breaks in each set.
In other first-round matches, Marcel Granollers, taking the place of Jo-Wilfried Tsonga in the draw, advanced with a 6-2, 6-4 win over Benoit Paire and qualifier Pablo Cuevas defeated Albert Ramon-Vinolas 6-3, 6-4 without facing a break point.
Tsonga, who had been seeded seventh in Valencia, said a leg injury will keep him out of action the rest of the year.