VALENCIA, Spain (AP) -Defending champion David Ferrer won his opening match at the Valencia Open on Tuesday, beating Nicolas Almagro 7-5, 6-7 (3), 6-2 in the first round.
The eighth-seeded Spaniard broke Almagro six times on the hard court. Almagro won the tournament in Valencia twice when it was played on clay.
French players Gilles Simon and Gael Monfils also advanced. The fifth-seeded Simon beat Igor Kunitsyn of Russia 6-3, 6-2, and the sixth-seeded Monfils defeated Spanish wild-card entry Marcel Granollers 6-4, 6-2.
Also, Juan Monaco beat Martin Vassallo Arguello 6-3, 6-2 in an all-Argentine match, and Leonardo Mayer of Argentina defeated Igor Andreev of Russia 6-3, 6-3.
