Berdych powers thru Rome opener

ROME — Eighth seed Tomas Berdych saved all eight break points he faced Tuesday to beat Albert Ramos-Vinolas 6-3, 6-4 for a place in the Rome Masters third round. Berdych’s best result in Rome came in 2013 when he lost to Rafael Nadal in the semifinals. He will next play No. 12 seed David Goffin or Jack Sock. In first-round action, Nicolas Mahut beat this year’s Rio de Janeiro and Sao Paulo titlist, Pablo Cuevas, 7-6(6), 2-6, 7-5 in two hours and 13 minutes for a meeting against Thomaz Bellucci. Philipp Kohlschreiber of Germany also advanced beating Inigo Cervantes of Spain 6-4, 6-2. On the women’s side, Eugenie Bouchard of Canada upset former world No. 1 Jelena Jankovic 6-4, 2-6, 6-3 in the first round of the Italian International tennis championships in Rome Tuesday. Bouchard, who is ranked No. 46 on the WTA Tour, needed nearly two hours to beat the Serbian for the third time in four career meetings. The victory, which came off a disappointing first-round loss last week in Madrid, was Bouchard’s second win over a top-25 player this year. Jankovic is No. 24. In other early matches, Christina McHale of the US beat Claudia Giovine of Italy defeated 6-1, 2-6, 6-2, Johanna Konta of Britain beat Johanna Larsson of Sweden 6-1, 6-2, Svetlana Kuznetsova of Russia beat Caroline Garcia of France 7-5, 6-4 and Jelena Ostapenko of Latvia beat Kristina Mladenovic of France 6-3, 6-1. On Monday, Thomas Bellucci sent 14th seed Gael Monfils to a 6-3, 7-6 (7-2) opening loss, with Monfils calling for the trainer after less than half an hour on court. Austrian 13th seed Dominic Thiem overcame Alexander Dolgopolov 6-3, 3-6, 6-4 while Spain’s Guillermo Garcia-Lopez spoiled the day for Italian number one Fabio Fognini 6-1, 7-6 (7-2). Halep confident Madrid champion Simona Halep hopes to trade further on her Spanish success this week in Rome, with the sixth seed confirming Tuesday her confidence is high for the WTA event. Halep owns two semifinals at the Foro Italico, with losses to Carla Suarez Navarro a year ago and to Serena Williams in 2013. But Romania’s top player is currently bursting with confidence after beating Dominika Cibulkova for the Madrid title on clay at the weekend. Halep has turned her season prospects around after a poor start to 2016. “I didn’t play the same at the beginning of the year, it was a tough period for me as I started the year a bit sick. I couldn’t train like I do now. “But I came back very strong, in my opinion, and played good tennis in Madrid. I have more confidence — I believe in my game. “I’ve started to work much more than before, so I’m all good. I feel good. The most important thing: I don’t have injuries. I’m able to practice, I’m able to play matches. “That makes me feel more confident on court.” Halep played the 2014 Roland Garros final but lost in a second-round disappointment at the ensuing edition. She is hoping to change that scenario in a few weeks in Paris through continued hard work. — Agencies