Romanian qualifier upsets Blake in Rd 1

James Blake struggled with the windy conditions and lost to Romanian qualifier Victor Crivoi 7-5 6-3 on Monday in the first round of the Rome Masters.

Blake lost the opening five games against the 112th-ranked Crivoi,rallied to make it 5-5 — saving three set points along the way — then was broken at love to end the first set. Last year’s runner-up Stanislas Wawrinka got off to a solid start,beating Igor Kunitsyn of Russia 6-3 6-4. Also advancing was 15th-seeded Marin Cilic of Croatia,who defeated Italian wild card Flavio Cipolla 6-2 6-2. The 1.98-meter Cilic had five aces and 25 winners to Cipolla’s eight.

Ivo Karlovic rallied to beat Jan Hernych of the Czech Republic 4-6 6-4 6-2 to set up a meeting with Roger Federer. Albert Montanes of Spain defeated Italian wild card Potito Starace 7-6 (8) 6-4 before rain suspended play and will next face Djokovic,while Argentine qualifier Juan Monaco beat the oldest player in the draw,31-year-old Nicolas Kiefer,6-2 6-3,to set up a meeting with Andy Murray.