Schiavone advances to 2nd round in Prague

PRAGUE (AP) -Top-seeded Francesca Schiavone of Italy advanced to the second round of the Prague Open, beating 2006 champion Shahar Peer of Israel 7-5, 6-3 Monday.

Second-seeded Sybille Bammer of Austria also advanced, rallying to beat Tsvetana Pironkova of Bulgaria 2-6, 7-6 (2), 7-5. Fourth-seeded Carla Suarez Navarro of Spain beat Alexandra Dulgheru of Romania 4-6, 6-3, 6-3, and Barbora Zahlavova Strycova of the Czech Republic defeated Kristina Kucova of Slovakia 7-5, 6-4.

Dominika Cibulkova of Slovakia withdrew from the tournament with an unspecified thigh injury on Sunday, conceding the top-seeded position to Schiavone.

Davydenko rallies to advance to 2nd round

Davydenko rallies to advance to 2nd round

STUTTGART, Germany (AP) -Second-seeded Nikolay Davydenko rallied to overcome Ivan Navarro 4-6, 7-5, 6-3 in the first round of the Mercedes Cup on Monday.

Navarro, a Spaniard ranked No. 104 in the world, battled for two hours and 36 minutes before falling to the Russian. Navarro used an unusual serve-and-volley game on the slow clay court to surprise Davydenko and also played many drop shots from the baseline to mix things up.

"It's not simple to play against him," Davydenko said. "The first couple of matches in a tournament are usually tough for me."

Fourth-seeded Victor Hanescu of Romania also advanced to the second round by beating qualifier Dominik Meffert of Germany 6-4, 7-6 (6), while Lukasz Kubot of Poland beat Pablo Andujar of Spain 6-2, 6-4 in a match between two qualifiers.

Germany's Michael Berrer rallied from losing the first set 6-0 to beat Austria's wild card entrant Stefan Koubek 0-6, 7-6 (3), 7-6 (4).

Szavay wins Budapest title by beating Schnyder

Szavay wins Budapest title by beating Schnyder

BUDAPEST, Hungary (AP) -Agnes Szavay of Hungary won the Budapest Grand Prix on Sunday, rallying to beat Patty Schnyder of Switzerland 2-6, 6-4, 6-2 in the final.

It was Szavay's third singles WTA Tour title.

Schnyder dropped serve twice in the first set but broke four times. In the second, the fourth-seeded Szavay broke decisively to lead 2-1. Szavay broke twice more in the decider.

"In the first set, I was too excited and that gave the set to the more experienced Patty," Szavay said. "I'm glad I managed to turn the score around and please the home crowd."

Schnyder was gracious in defeat.

"The game (Szavay) produced today was too strong for me," Schnyder said. "I tried my best but Agnes put too much pressure on me and my returns were not very good, either."

Blake’s loss seals U.S. exit from Davis Cup

POREC, Croatia - Croatia eliminated the United States from the Davis Cup after Marin Cilic beat James Blake for an insurmountable 3-1 lead in the quarterfinals.

Cilic defeated Blake 6-3, 6-3, 4-6, 6-2 Sunday to help Croatia reach its first Davis Cup semifinals since winning the competition in 2005.

Croatia will take on the Czech Republic at home in September. The Czechs beat Argentina 3-2 on Sunday.

Croatia took a 2-0 lead after Ivo Karlovic rallied to beat Blake and Cilic outlasted Mardy Fish in five sets in Friday's opening singles. Bob and Mike Bryan beat Croatian duo Roko Karanusic and Lovro Zovko in Saturday's doubles.

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Szavay wins Budapest title by beating Schnyder

BUDAPEST, Hungary (AP) -Agnes Szavay of Hungary won the Budapest Grand Prix on Sunday, rallying to beat Patty Schnyder of Switzerland 2-6, 6-4, 6-2 in the final.

It was Szavay's third singles WTA Tour title.

Schnyder dropped serve twice in the first set but broke four times. In the second, the fourth-seeded Szavay broke decisively to lead 2-1. Szavay broke twice more in the decider.

"In the first set, I was too excited and that gave the set to the more experienced Patty," Szavay said. "I'm glad I managed to turn the score around and please the home crowd."

Schnyder was gracious in defeat.

"The game (Szavay) produced today was too strong for me," Schnyder said. "I tried my best but Agnes put too much pressure on me and my returns were not very good, either."

2 arrested for stalking Indian tennis star Mirza

HYDERABAD, India - Two engineering students smitten by Indian tennis star Sania Mirza have been arrested and accused of stalking her.

Police say one man sought to marry her a day before she was to be engaged. The other man threatened suicide if the engagement was not called off.

Ajay Singh Yadav was apprehended Thursday as he tried to barge into Mirza’s house, apparently to profess his love, police said. Singh reached the southern Indian city of Hyderabad, rushing to Mirza’s house and demanding to see her, police added. He was taken into custody when he refused to leave.

His arrest came a day after another student was arrested when he tried to enter Mirza’s house. The student threatened to kill himself if the engagement ceremony was not canceled.

The 22-year-old Mirza became the first Indian woman to crack the top 40 in the rankings a few years ago and is now No. 86. At one time, the Muslim player was assailed by conservative elements of the Indian community for competing in short skirts and sleeveless shirts.

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Safin dropped from singles matchup with Israel

JERUSALEM (AP) -Russia's former top-ranked player Marat Safin will not play any singles matches in this weekend's Davis Cup quarterfinal against Israel following Thursday's draw.

Russian coach Shamil Tarpischev decided to play Safin in Saturday's doubles, alongside Igor Kunitsyn, a decision Safin said he respected. Igor Andreev and Mikhail Youzhny will play the singles matches.

"It is important not to take chances but to play with the best combination," said Safin, whose sister Dinara Safina is the top-ranked woman's player in the world. "I felt like I wasn't in the best shape right now so I needed some extra days to get ready."

The 29-year-old Russian, who says he will retire at the end of this year, is currently ranked 60th after losing in the first round of Wimbledon.

Friday's opening match will feature Andreev, ranked 24th, against 210th-ranked Israeli Harel Levy.

"I will try to play well and try to win and give the first point to our team. I have had enough time to prepare myself," Andreev said after the draw in Tel Aviv.

Israel's top player Dudi Sela, ranked 33rd and who two weeks ago became the first Israeli man in 20 years to reach the fourth round at Wimbledon, will then face Youzhny, ranked 69th.

"Youzhny is a very good player who helped them win the Davis Cup a few years ago," Sela said.

The matchups will switch round on Sunday.

In between, Safin and Kunitsyn, ranked 35th, will play Israel's doubles tandem of Andy Ram and Jonathan Erlich.

The Israeli pair captured the doubles crown at the 2008 Australian Open - Israel's only Grand Slam victory.

Israel is aiming to make the Davis Cup semifinals for the first time in its history while the Russians are expecting to advance to the final four for the fifth straight time.