Sharapova posts win

STRASBOURG: Top-seeded Maria Sharapova had to dig deep to beat fellow Russian Regina Kulikova in the first round of the Strasbourg Open here on Monday. Sharapova won 6-3, 3-6, 6-1.

Nadal moves to No. 2

Spaniard Rafael Nadal overtook Serb Novak Djokovic to move into the second spot in the ATP rankings released on Monday. The day after his 6-2, 7-6(5) victory over Roger Federer in the Madrid Masters final, Nadal eased into the second spot behind the Swiss.

The results (first round):

At Strasbourg: Strasbourg Open: Maria Sharapova bt Regina Kulikova 6-3, 3-6, 6-1; Anastasia Rodionova bt Ayumi Morita 2-6, 6-3, 7-5; Vania King bt Elena Vesnina 6-4, 6-1; Alize Cornet bt Chan Yung-Jan 6-3, 6-3.

At Warsaw: Warsaw Open: Alona Bondarenko bt Roberta Vinci 6-3, 6-1.

At Nice: Nice Open: Olivier Rochus bt Adrian Mannarino 6-3, 6-1; Marco Chiudinelli bt Fabio Fognini 7-5, 6-2; Potito Starace bt Steve Darcis 6-3, 6-1; Lukasz Kubot bt Gianni Mina 7-5, 6-4; Simon Greul bt Arnaud Clement 6-3, 6-4; Leonardo Mayer bt David Guez 1-6, 6-1, 6-3 . — Agencies