Top-seeded Juan Carlos Ferrero struggled to put away Italy’s Potito Starace 7-6 (3), 4-6, 6-3 in his Mexican Open debut Monday. Fourth-seeded Juan Ignacio Chela also won his opener. The 2000 champion and runner-up last year beat Argentine countryman Sergio Roitman 6-3, 6-2. Ferrero, the former French Open champion trying to win his first title since October 2003, beat Starace two weeks ago en route…

Former world No. 1 player Gustavo Kuerten entered the main draw of the Tennis Channel Open through an unfamiliar door Monday. The three-time French Open champion from Brazil defeated Wesley Moodie of South Africa, 6-4, 7-5, in an elimination match. He advances to the 24-player, round-robin round, where he will play either Jan Hernych of the Czech Republic or eighth-seeded Benjamin Becker of Germany…

Former world No. 1 player Gustavo Kuerten entered the main draw of the Tennis Channel Open through an unfamiliar door Monday. Three-time French Open champ from Brazil defeated Wesley Moodie of the Republic of South Africa, 6-4, 7-5, in an elimination match. He advances to the 24-player, round-robin round, where he will play either Jan Hernych of the Czech Republic or eighth-seeded Benjamin Becker of…

Justine Henin and Kim Clijsters will not play for Belgium in its Fed Cup match against the United States in April. Both second-ranked Henin and fourth-ranked Clijsters cited a busy schedule, the Belgian tennis federation officially announced on Monday. The first-round match takes place April 21-22 in Delray Beach, Fla.

Venus Williams has a message for anyone who thought she might use her latest injury as an excuse to finally leave tennis. She’s back, and she plans on working her way back up to an elite level. “I love a challenge,” Williams said. She hadn’t played competitive tennis since last October because of an injured left wrist and had pulled out of four events, including the Australian Open won last month by…

Former U.S. Open semifinalist Joachim Johansson, one of the fastest servers in tennis, had shoulder surgery and is expected to be out at least three months. “I don’t think I’ll play again until summer,” the Swede said. “I haven’t set a date because I know it seldom turns out the way you plan.” Johansson was operated on in Milan, Italy, and was told by his surgeon that “everything looks perfect.” “He…

Third-seeded Ivan Ljubicic advanced to the final of the ABN Amro tournament on Saturday with a 4-6, 7-6 (4), 7-6 (4) win over top-seeded Nikolay Davydenko of Russia. Ljubicic’s opponent in Sunday’s final will be Mikhail Youzhny of Russia, who saved three match points to beat fifth-seeded Novak Djokovic of Serbia 3-6, 7-6 (7), 7-5.

The governing body of men’s tennis applauded Wimbledon’s decision to award equal prize money to men and women. “It’s a good move for Wimbledon and for tennis overall,” ATP president and executive chairman Etienne de Villiers said in a statement Friday. The All England Club agreed Thursday to provide equal pay from the first round through the final at the June 25-July 8 grass-court championships.The…

After years of holding out against equal prize money, Wimbledon bowed to public pressure Thursday and agreed to pay women players as much as the men at the world’s most prestigious tennis tournament. The All England Club announced at a news conference that it had decided to fall into line with other Grand Slam events and offer equal pay through all rounds at this year’s tournament.

Fourth-seeded Emilie Loit beat two-time champion Paola Suarez 6-4, 4-6, 6-3 on Wednesday in the second round of the Copa Colsanitas. Suarez, the Argentine player who won in Bogota in 1998 and 2001, is playing her final season on the WTA Tour. Loit’s quarterfinal opponent will be sixth-seeded Roberta Vinci, a 6-2, 6-3 winner over 17-year-old qualifier Alize Cornet 6-2, 6-3.

Albert Montanes of Spain beat third-seeded Agustin Calleri 6-7 (4), 6-4, 6-4 in a Copa Telmex round-robin match on Tuesday, a week after losing to the Argentine in Brazil. Calleri won their match last week en route to the Costa do Sauipe quarterfinals, but Montanes got him back Tuesday, reaching 5-1 in the last set before withstanding a late Calleri comeback to beat the Argentine for the fourth…

Lleyton Hewitt pulled out of the ABN Amro tournament with a hamstring injury Tuesday. The seventh-seeded Australian, who won the Rotterdam tournament in 2004, was due to play his opening singles match Wednesday. Hewitt, a former Wimbledon and U.S. Open champion, injured his right hamstring last week at the ATP tournament in Marseille, France.

Paola Suarez cruised to a 6-0, 6-3 victory Monday over Zsofia Gubacsi on the opening day of the Copa Colsanitas Santander. Rains delayed play in the outdoor clay event at the Club Campestre el Rancho, which carries a purse of $175,000. Suarez is looking for her third title in Colombia. Mariana Duque beat Viky Nunez 6-2, 6-0 in an all-Colombian matchup.

No. 6 seed Jurgen Melzer rallied to beat American qualifier Jesse Witten 1-6, 6-3, 7-6 (3) Monday in the first round of the Regions Morgan Keegan Championships. The 24-year-old Witten, a regular on the Challenger circuit, needed just 21 minutes to take the first set from his Austrian counterpart. But Melzer, despite some lingering pain from his injured left wrist, regrouped in the second and then…

Eleni Daniilidou of Greece upset seventh-seeded Li Na of China while No. 6 Patty Schnyder of Switzerland defeated Italy’s Francesca Schiavone in the first round of the Dubai Open on Monday. The 42nd-ranked Daniilidou needed more than three hours to oust Li 6-7 (5), 7-6 (3). Schnyder, the only left-hander in the tournament, struggled in the opening set but prevailed 6-7 (5), 6-3, 6-3.