Sixth-seeded Adrian Mannarino of France rallied past James Duckworth of Australia 6-7 (3), 7-6 (5), 7-6 (4) to advance to the second round of the Hall of Fame Tennis Championships Tuesday. The 28-year-old Mannarino was the only seeded player in action and voiced his displeasure over playing on a side court and the condition of Newport's grass surface. "I feel relieved that I won the match, but still I didn't enjoy any minute on the court," he said. "The court is just ridiculously bad. We're playing (next to) the other court. You've got the camera, the microphone on the court. You can't really move. This is really not respectful for the players to come, that kind of court." Qualifier Frank Dancevic of Canada beat American Ryan Harrison 6-4, 6-4 on center court in a match that ended a few minutes after Mannarino's victory. Mannarino went up 5-2 after breaking serve in the seventh game of final set, but struggled and became visibly upset, yelling at himself when he hit a lob long to close the eighth game. The tourney is held on the grounds of the International Tennis Hall of Fame, and fans can get an up-close look at play on the side courts. Spectators stand about 20 feet beyond both baselines, behind a fence that's approximately three-feet high, with a mesh netting attached. Mannarino said it's difficult for players to see shots, especially with bad bounces. Also Tuesday, wild card Stefan Kozlov beat Benjamin Becker, 6-1, 6-2; qualifier Brian Baker outlasted fellow American Austin Krajicek, 6-2, 3-6, 6-2; and John-Patrick Smith ousted Jordan Thompson, 6-4, 6-4. Marco Chiudinelli edged Alex Kuznetsov, 6-4, 7-6 (6), Sam Groth beat Michal Przysienzny, 7-6 (2), 6-4; and Yuichi Sugita defeated Amir Weintraub, 4-6, 6-3, 6-3. Kohlschreiber surpasses Stich Top-seeded Philipp Kohlschreiber surpassed Michael Stich as the German with the third most wins on the ATP tour in the Open era when he beat Carlos Berlocq 6-3, 6-7 (5), 6-3 in the first round of the German Open Tuesday. Kohlschreiber's 386th win ranked him behind Boris Becker (713) and Tommy haas (563) on the all-time German list. Stich was the tournament director. There was more good news for Germany when wild card Louis Wessels beat Steven Diez 5-7, 6-2, 6-1. But fourth-seeded Alxander Zverev, a rising German talent, went out against Inigo Cervantes 7-5, 7-6 (2). Second-seeded Benoit Paire was also eliminated by to Daniel Gimeno-Traver 5-7, 6-2, 7-6 (6). Also through to the second round were seventh-seeded Martin Klizan, and No. 8 Guillermo Garcia-Lopez, who saved a match point against Kenny De Schepper of France. Verdasco prevails Former finalist Fernando Verdasco saved all five break points he faced in beating Swiss qualifier Henri Laaksonen 6-3, 6-2 in the first round of the Swedish Open Tuesday. Verdasco next faces Spanish compatriot Albert Montanes, who handed Elias Ymer of Sweden his 10th consecutive main draw loss, 6-4, 6-2. Other winners included Taro Daniel of Japan, who downed seventh-seeded Horacio Zeballos og Argentina 6-4, 6-2, Gastao Elias of Portugal, Dustin Brown of Germany, and Roberto Carballes of Spain. — Agencies
