Hewitt ousts Monaco

Valencia - Former world No 1 Lleyton Hewitt knocked out Juan Monaco of Argentina 6-3, 6-4 in the opening round of the Valencia Open on Monday, ending a 10-match losing run against top-10 opponents.

The Australian wildcard entry broke the 10th-ranked Monaco twice in the opening set and three times in the second at the indoor hard-court tournament. The loss makes it difficult for the Argentine to qualify for the season-ending ATP World Tour Finals in London.

Hewitt will face Ivan Dodig after the Croatian qualifier beat Philipp Kohlschreiber of Germany 6-2, 7-6 (8/6).

Fernando Verdasco beat Tommy Robredo 6-3, 6-4 in an all-Spanish match. He will play Marin Cilic of Croatia.

Also, David Goffin of Belgium beat Pablo Andujar of Spain 6-2, 6-2.