Harsh begins title defence well

Defending champion Harsh Mankad of India moved into the second round of the $10,000 Canada F1 Satellite tennis tournament, defeating Jeff Laski of the United States 6-3, 6-4, at Mississauga near Toronto, Canada, on Wednesday.

It was at the Canada F1 tournament that the India Davis Cupper won his first pro title last year.

Mankad, unseeded in the tournament, next takes on talented Indonesian, Peter Handoyo. Handoyo upset eigth seed Toshihide Matsui of Japan 6-0, 6-2 in another first round match.

The other three Indians in the draw had mixed results, with fourth seed Mustafa Ghouse going down, and Ajay Ramaswamy and Sunil Kumar Sipaeya moving into the second round.

Ghouse was upset by a qualifier Jason Zimmermann of the United States 1-6, 7-6(1), 6-7(4) in the first round.

Ajay Ramaswamy, ranked 899 on the ATP, upset the fifth seed Diego Ayala of the US 6-3, 6-4, while 951-ranked Sunil Kumar Sipaeya downed 636-ranked Luke Smith of Australia after a strong rally 3-6, 6-3, 6-3.

It was a big victory for Sipaeya, as Smith was a US collegiate champion five years back.

In the doubles draw, Harsh and Mustafa will face play Simon Larose of Canada and Luke Smith of Australia while Ajay Ramaswamy and Sunil Kumar Sipaeya play Matthew Baccarani and Darius Craton of Canada.

The tournament has become wide open with only three seeds moving into the second round. Only second seed Thomas Blake, third seed Michael Tebbutt and seventh seed Josh Goffi have survived the first round.