Kuerten wins in Costa do Sauipe

Costa Do Sauipe: Three-time French Open winner Gustavo Kuerten defeated seventh-seeded Filippo Volandri of Italy 6-3, 6-1 to snap an 18-month winless streak in the first round of the Brasil Open on Tuesday. Kuerten has battled to recover from a right hip injury and surgery in 2004. His previous ATP-level victory was in August 2005 in the first round of the US Open. Since then, he'd lost his only match in 2006 - at Costa do Sauipe - and two round-robin matches in Vina del Mar, Chile two weeks ago. "I knew it was just a matter of time, I'm improving physically and this win should give me more confidence," the 30-year-old Kuerten said. "I was able to serve well and maintained a good rhythm." The former No 1, now ranked 1,076th and playing with a wild card, served 13 aces and needed only 46 minutes to eliminate Volandri. Kuerten has won 20 ATP titles, including the Brasil Open in 2002 and 2004, and the French Open in 1997, 2000 and 2001. Second-seeded Agustin Calleri, the Costa do Sauipe runner-up to Kuerten in 2004, defeated Argentine countryman Diego Hartfield 6-4, 6-1 in the only other match completed before play was suspended until Wednesday because of rain.