Granollers beats Lopez in Spanish duel in Rome

Spain’s Marcel Granollers defeated countryman Feliciano Lopez 75, 61 on Monday to advance to the second round of the Rome Masters.

Up next at the Foro Italico for Granollers, who is ranked 31st in the world, is world No. 8 Andy Murray of Great Britain.

“I know that Murray is tough, but I am going to try to play my game, play loose, and we’ll see what happens. Since my loss in Madrid, I have tried to keep working and I believe I have been able to play at a good level,” Granollers told Efe.

Granollers needed an hour and 21 minutes to beat Lopez, who fought hard in the first set and then struggled to get on track in the second.

Spanish world No. 1 Rafael Nadal will make his debut in Rome against France’s Gilles Simon in a match scheduled for Wednesday.

Simon set up the meeting with Nadal by beating Italy’s Filippo Volandri 62, 63.

Nadal, who won the Mutua Madrid Open on Sunday, arrived in Rome on Monday to begin preparing to defend his title in the Italian capital.

The 27yearold Spaniard rolled over Switzerland’s Roger Federer 61, 63 in the final of the Rome Masters last year, taking his 7th title at the claycourt event.

Nadal won the Madrid Open final on Sunday when Japan’s Kei Nishikori retired after suffering a back injury while trailing in the third set.

Nishikori was up 62, 42 in the match when his back started tightening up on him and it looked as though Nadal was on his way to another disappointing result.

Nadal lost in the quarterfinals of last month’s Monte Carlo Masters and Barcelona Open events, two claycourt tournaments he has dominated over the last 10 years.

On the women’s side, Argentina’s Paula Ormaechea advanced to the second round with a 64, 63 win over Japan’s Kurumi Nara.

Ormaechea, the world No. 73, was the lucky loser in the tournament, getting into the main draw after Denmark’s Caroline Wozniacki was forced to withdraw due to an injury.

Australia’s Casey Dellacqua had beaten Ormaechea 61, 61 in qualifying and the Argentine did not waste the second chance she got in Rome.

Ormaechea, however, will have a tough time staying in the Italian capital, where her secondround opponent will be Poland’s Agnieszka Radwanska, the world No. 3.

The Rome Masters is one of the biggest claycourt events on the ATP and WTA calendars and a key tuneup for the French Open, which gets underway on May 25.