ranked players Justine Henin and Maria Sharapova crashed out in the first round at the Madrid Masters Sunday. Aravane Rezai of France beat Henin 4-6, 7-5, 6-0, and Lucie Safarova of the Czech Republic defeated Sharapova 6-4, 6-3. Henin said she had not fully recovered after falling ill following her win at the Porsche Grand Prix in Stuttgart last weekend, her first title since coming out of retirement. “Madrid has been a difficult experience this year and I hope that next year will be better,” she said. Sharapova battled back from a poor start to level the first set at 4-4 before Safarova took control by winning the last six games of the match. “It's a struggle trying to find the rhythm,” said Sharapova. “I thought she played really solid, good tennis and did everything she needed to win the match. More solid than me anyway.” Fourth-seeded Venus Williams downed Swiss qualifier Stefanie Voegele 6-4, 6-2. On the men's side, ninth-seeded David Ferrer beat Jeremy Chardy of France 6-3, 7-6 (2). Ivo Karlovic of Croatia topped Evgeny Korolev of Kazakhstan 6-4, 7-6 (5) to set up a second-round match with sixth-seeded Fernando Verdasco. Juan Monaco of Argentina beat Simon Greul of Germany 6-1, 6-1. Querrey bags Serbia Open Sam Querrey survived a match point as he rallied to beat John Isner 3-6, 7-6 (4), 6-4 Sunday to win an all-American Serbia Open final. The second-seeded Isner wasted a match point in the second set while serving and leading 5-3. But his powerful first serve seemed to have deserted him in the crucial moments as Querrey converted a break point with a forehand passing shot. The third-seeded Querrey then converted his fifth break point in the ninth game of the third set before serving out the match for his fourth career ATP tour title, and the first on clay. Isner hit his racket to the ground after sending a forehand into the net in the last point of the match. “It's not easy playing against my friend,” Querrey said of his frequent doubles partner. “I congratulate John on a very good week here in Belgrade.” An all-American clay court final was last played in Europe in 1991, when Jim Courier defeated Andre Agassi for the French Open title. Querrey, 22, won the Memphis title in February, when he also topped Isner in the championship match. Montanes defends title Albert Montanes successfully defended the Estoril Open, beating unseeded Frederico Gil of Portugal 6-2, 6-7 (4), 7-5 in Sunday's final. The fourth-seeded Spaniard withstood a fightback from Gil, blowing two match points when leading 5-3 in the second set. The 120th-ranked Gil took the ensuing tiebreaker and then twice broke Montanes to open a 3-0 lead thanks to some inspired passing shots and fast court speed. The Portuguese faded as the set wore on, allowing Montanes to level at 4-4 before dropping serve in the 12th game. Montanes eliminated No. 1 Roger Federer in two sets in Saturday's semifinals. Youzhny upsets Cilic Mikhail Youzhny beat top-seeded Marin Cilic of Croatia 6-3, 4-6, 6-4 on Sunday to win the BMW Open for his first title of the year. The second-seeded Russian captured the BMW Open at his third attempt in the final, having lost in 2007 and 2009. Youzhny needed 2 hours, 52 minutes to notch his sixth career title. The set he dropped was the only one he lost all week. Cilic, who was seeking his third title of the year, wasted break points to prevent Youzhny from winning the first set. He squandered a 3-0 lead before clinching the second set. But one break of serve in the third was enough for Youzhny to take the title.
