This Article is From Feb 01, 2011

Somdev, Greul win at South Africa Open

Somdev, Greul win at South Africa Open
Simon Greul of Germany, Somdev Devvarman of India and South African wild card Rik de Voest all won first-round matches at the SA Tennis Open on Monday.

Greul beat Brazilian qualifier Thiago Alves 6-2, 7-5, Devvarman ousted local player Raven Klaasen 6-4, 6-3, and De Voest battled past Stefano Galvani of Italy to win 6-3, 5-7, 7-6 (6).

Only three singles matches were scheduled for the opening day of the ATP event at Montecasino hotel and entertainment complex.

De Voest held off a fightback from Galvani to eventually win in 2 hours, 40 minutes, the South African's first victory on the ATP World Tour in two years.

Greul and Devvarman then cruised to straightforward victories.

Defending champion Feliciano Lopez of Spain, the No. 1 seeded player and highest ranked in Johannesburg at No. 33, plays Canada's Frank Dancevic in the first round on Tuesday.

Second-seeded Yen-hsun Lu of Taiwan, ranked No. 37 and the only other top-50 player at the tournament, will open his campaign against Canadian qualifier Milos Raonic.

Also Tuesday, third-seeded Janko Tipsarevic faces Jesse Huta Galung of the Netherlands and fourth-seeded Kevin Anderson of South Africa takes on Switzerland's Stephane Bohli.
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