Berlocq overcomes injury to win

Sixth-seed Carlos Berlocq overcame an injury to his left calf and surged past James Blake 6-4, 2-6, 6-1 in a first-round match in the U.S. Men’s Clay Court Championship on Monday in Houston. Berlocq took a 5-1 lead in the first set and then had to hold on to win it. Blake won the second set, with Berlocq getting his ailing left calf wrapped before losing the final game. Berlocq, who said he felt tightness in the calf, left the court briefly before the final set to get more treatment. Instead of fading because of the injury, Berlocq seemed energized from the start of the final set. Blake held serve in the first game, but then Berlocq won six consecutive games. Berlocq broke Blake in the final game at love. He hit a backhand return of service winner at the first match point. Berlocq said he first felt pain in his left calf 10 days ago. Former champion Tommy Haas withdrew with a right knee injury before a qualifying match.

-Defending champion Roberta Vinci rallied for a 1-6, 6-1, 6-1 victory vs. Mathilde Johansson in the first round of the Barcelona Open tennis tournament Monday. Johansson broke twice for a 5-0 lead in the first set, with Vinci failing to land less than 50% of her first serves. Fourth-seeded Vinci came back in the second set with two breaks of her own, then cruised in the final set after Johansson served six double faults.

-Fifth seed Donald Young lost to Benoit Paire 4-6, 7-6 (7-5), 6-2 Monday in the first round of the Grand Prix Hassan II in Casablanca, Morocco. Eighth seed Fabio Fognini was beaten by Guillermo Garcia-lopez 6-4, 3-6, 7-5. Paire held on after encountering trouble late in the second set. He saved two break points in the 11th game and trailed 4-2 in the tiebreaker. Garcia-lopez defeated Fognini for the first time on clay and evened their head-to-head record at 2-2. Fognini had won both previous matches on clay, including in the third round of the French Open last year.