• Legg Mason Tennis Classic

Washington KO for James Blake

ESPN staff
August 2, 2010
James Blake's struggle to break back into the top 100 continues © Getty Images
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James Blake was a big-name casualty in the first round of the Legg Mason Tennis Classic in Washington D.C. on Monday as he lost to fellow American Ryan Sweeting 3-6 6-3 6-4.

Former world No.4 Blake wasted four break point opportunities in the final set to give 23-year-old Sweeting his "best win for sure".

Veteran German Rainer Schuettler couldn't go the distance with Illya Marchenko, going out 6-4 3-6 6-4 at the first hurdle, while David Nalbandian made it through with a 6-4 6-0 victory over Rajeev Ram.

There was something of a minor boilover as Benjamin Becker lost to an opponent ranked 60 places below him, Grega Zemlja. The Slovenian qualifier did it in style, too, coming away with a 6-2 6-3 win in under an hour.

Denis Istomin and Leonardo Mayer, both in the top 70, were perhaps unfortunate to draw each other at this stage and they produced an early spectacle, Istomin edging it 6-4 5-7 7-6 (7-5).

Thiemo de Bakker sent Lukas Lacko out, while Dmitry Tursunov, Michael Berrer, Viktor Troicki and Igor Kunitsyn also progressed.

© ESPN Sports Media Ltd.
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