Updated on
Summary
Tenth-seeded Tomas Berdych and 11th-seeded Ivan Ljubicic were a pair of first-round winners, while former world No 1 Juan Carlos Ferrero lost the $2.97 million Italian Masters, the fourth of nine Masters events on the ATP World Tour this year. The Czech Berdych, a runner-up at the Masters event in Miami earlier this month, handled Spanish qualifier Marcel Granollers 6-3, 6-3, while the Indian Wells Masters titlist Ljubicic, of Croatia, outlasted France's Paul-Henri Mathieu 7-5, 6-7 (1-7), 6-0 on the red clay at Foro Italico, which boasts a new center court stadium this year. A 12th-seeded Ferrero, meanwhile, was surprised by Colombian qualifier Santiago Giraldo 6-0, 6-3 on Day 2. The former French Open champion Ferrero is a two-time clay-court champion so far this season and captured this Roman event back in 2001. Rome serves as a tune-up for the French Open, which will commence May 23 in Paris.
