Stockholm, Sweden (My Sportsbook) - Third-seeded Finn Jarkko Nieminen and fourth-seeded Swede Robin Soderling were a pair of opening-round winners Wednesday at the $980,000 Stockholm Open. The two-time Stockholm runner-up Nieminen overcame Brazilian Thomaz Bellucci 6-7 (5-7), 6-3, 7-5, while Soderling got past German Benjamin Becker 7-5, 6-3 on the indoor hardcourt at Royal Tennis Hall. In some second-round play, fifth-seeded German Rainer Schuettler bested Ecuador's Nicolas Lapentti 7-6 (8-6), 6-3 and Spaniard Oscar Hernandez toppled sixth-seeded Argentine Jose Acasuso 2-6, 6-3, 6-4. In other first-round action, seventh-seeded Spaniard Albert Montanes dismissed Swedish crowd favorite Thomas Johansson 6-3, 4-6, 6-3, Swiss qualifier George Bastl outlasted Danish qualifier Frederik Nielsen 7-6 (8-6), 3-6, 7-6 (7-4) and French veteran Arnaud Clement clobbered Swedish qualifier Bjorn Rehnquist 6-2, 6-1. The 2000 and 2004 Stockholm champion Johansson was last year's runner-up here to Croat Ivo Karlovic. |
