Baghdatis downs Sweeting

North Carolina - Eighth-seeded Marcos Baghdatis defeated American Ryan Sweeting 7-5, 6-1 on Monday in the second round at the Winston-Salem Open.

Baghdatis was the first seeded player to take the court at the final men's warmup tournament before the US Open. The 16 seeded players, including No 1-seeded Andy Roddick, received first-round byes.

"I was able to find a solution to get by and win. That's the most important thing," Baghdatis said.

Qualifier Kei Nishikori of Japan beat Luxembourg's Gilles Muller 1-6, 6-4, 7-6 (5) in the first round.

Also in the opening round, Israel's Dudi Sela defeated Italy's Filippo Volandri 6-3, 6-2; Belgium's Steve Darcis topped Portugal's Frederico Gil 3-6, 6-3, 6-4; France's Julien Benneteau won a matchup of qualifiers by defeating Brazil's Ricardo Mello 6-1, 6-3; and Argentina's Carlos Berlocq advanced when Austria's Andreas Haider-Maurer retired with Berlocq leading 7-5, 4-1.