Houston, TX – American Sam Querrey was a first-round winner while his compatriot James Blake was ousted at the U.S. Men's Clay Court Championship on Monday.
Querrey, the 2010 Houston runner-up, posted an easy 6-1, 6-4 victory over Frenchman Eric Prodon. He fired six aces and never faced a break point as he won in under one hour at the River Oaks Country Club.
Blake, meanwhile, was subdued by sixth-seeded Argentine Carlos Berlocq in 6-4, 2-6, 6-1 fashion. Blake was a runner-up here in 2008
Finally, German Bjorn Phau advanced 6-1, 3-0 when Argentine Diego Junquiera retired.
This week's top seeds are American stars Mardy Fish and John Isner, who propelled the United States past host France with a victory over Jo-Wilfried Tsonga in this past weekend's Davis Cup quarterfinal showdown at the Monte Carlo Country Club.
Fish was the Houston champion in 2006.
American Ryan Sweeting was a surprise winner here a year ago when he beat Japan's Kei Nishikori in the finale.
The winner of this $442,500 event will take home $79,880.
Receive your weekly recap of all the happenings around the world of sports.