Novak Djokovic of Serbia beat French qualifier Florent Serra 7-6 (6), 6-4 Monday in the first round of the ABN Amro on Monday. The fifth-seeded Djokovic saved a set point in the tiebreaker, and then broke Serra in the ninth game of the second set at Ahoy stadium. The 19-year-old Djokovic is the youngest player in the top 20 of the ATP rankings, but he found it tough against the tenacious Frenchman.

Eleni Daniilidou of Greece defeated seventh-seeded Li Na of China in the first round of the Dubai Open on Monday. Daniilidou, ranked 43rd, beat Li 6-7 (5), 7-6 (3), 6-3 in a match that lasted just over three hours. Maria Kirilenko of Russia also advanced to the second round after beating wild card Monica Niculescu of Romania 6-3, 6-0.

Roger Federer tied Jimmy Connors’ record of 160 consecutive weeks as the top-ranked player in men’s tennis Monday. The 10-time Grand Slam champion has held the No. 1 ATP Tour ranking since Feb. 2, 2004. The Swiss star is assured of breaking the record next week. “Breaking records and doing something that hasn’t been done for a long time, it’s really nice,” Federer said recently.

Wild-card Guillermo Canas of Argentina won for the first time since returning from a doping ban, upsetting top-seeded Juan Carlos Ferrero of Spain 7-6 (4), 6-2 in the Brazil Open on Sunday. Canas didn’t lose any sets at Costa do Sauipe en route to his seventh career title. “I’m really happy to win this first title after my return,” said Canas, who returned to the ATP circuit in January following a…

Venus Williams doesn’t exactly know how her injured left wrist will respond in her return to competitive tennis. She just knows it’s time. “I’ve been working fairly hard, but obviously with match play, the stamina gets tested,” Williams said. “(Match play) is nothing like practice. It’s definitely not the same.

Wild card Guillermo Canas of Argentina upset top-seeded Juan Carlos Ferrero of Spain 7-6 (4), 6-2 in the Brazil Open final Sunday to win his first tournament since returning from a doping ban. Canas didn’t lose any sets at Costa do Sauipe en route to his seventh career title. “I’m really happy to win this first title after my return,” said Canas, who returned to the ATP circuit in January following…

Third-seeded Nadia Petrova beat Vera Zvonareva of Russia 7-6 (2), 6-4 Thursday to reach the quarterfinals of the Diamond Games. The seventh-ranked Petrova won the Gaz de France Open on Sunday, but she was struck with apparent stomach pain early in Thursday’s match. She still dominated Zvonoreva, ranked 21st in the world, in the tiebreaker.

Defending champion Mara Santangelo of Italy defeated Sun Shengnan 6-2, 7-6 (4) Wednesday at the Bangalore Open. Qualifier Yurika Sema of Japan advanced by beating Yulia Beygelzimer 1-6, 6-4, 6-1. Sema knocked off fifth-seeded Yuliana Fedak in the first round. Tzipora Obziler of Israel upset third-seeded Vasilisa Bardina 6-1, 6-2, and Alicia Molik of Australia prevailed 6-4, 6-3 against Alberta…

Qualifier Yurika Sema of Japan upset fifth-seeded Yuliana Fedak 1-6, 6-3, 6-4 Tuesday in the opening round of the Sony Ericsson International. Sema, ranked 237th, rallied after dropping the first set against the 76th-ranked Fedak. She held on to win after nearly blowing a 5-1 lead in the final set. “I’ve been playing well for the last few days,” Sema said.

Ivo Karlovic used 14 aces to beat Guillermo Garcia-Lopez, 6-3, 7-6 (7), in the first round of the SAP Open on Monday. Karlovic, ranked 103rd, needed 30 minutes to win the first set. The 70th-ranked Garcia-Lopez held serve in the second set to force the tiebreaker. Karlovic saved set point at 6-7 with an ace, and then finished out the match.

Fourth-seeded Carlos Moya and fifth-seeded Gaston Gaudio dropped out of the Brazil Open on Monday. Brazil’s Thiago Alves beat Moya 2-6, 7-5, 6-3, and Italy’s Potito Starace eliminated Gaudio 6-4, 6-3 in the first round of the clay-court event. Gaudio, a former French Open winner, is winless on the ATP Tour since the U.S.

Second-ranked Rafael Nadal withdrew from the Open 13 tournament on Monday because of a thigh injury that prevented him from playing in the Davis Cup last weekend. Nadal hurt his thigh in training before Spain’s tie against Switzerland in Geneva, and said it will heal soon. “It’s not a big problem, actually, but I know I need at least five or six days to recover, and I didn’t want to take any…

Second-ranked Rafael Nadal withdrew from the Open 13 tournament on Monday because of a thigh injury, that prevented him from playing in the Davis Cup last weekend. Nadal hurt his thigh in training before Spain’s tie against Switzerland in Geneva, and said it will heal soon. “It’s not a big problem, actually, but I know I need at least five or six days to recover, and I didn’t want to take any…

Anna Chakvetadze of Russia beat Eleni Daniilidou 6-4, 6-2 Monday to reach the second round of the Diamond Games. Michaella Krajicek of the Netherlands defeated Martina Muller 6-3, 6-2 and Patty Schnyder of Switzerland defeated local Belgium wild card Kirsten Flipkens 6-4, 6-1. The top four seeded players received byes into the second round, including two-time defending champion Amelie Mauresmo, Kim…

The start of the WTA Tour’s Ericsson International tournament will be delayed by a day to Tuesday because of a general strike in India’s southern Karnataka state, the host organizers said Sunday. The state government of Karnataka has ordered a general strike for Monday, effectively shutting down public services and private businesses in the state, including its capital Bangalore, where the…