Roddick beats Ascione at Lyon Open

Lyon:

Top-seeded Andy Roddick of the United States beat wild card Thierry Ascione of France 7-5, 6-3 Tuesday in the first round of the Lyon Grand Prix. The win improved former US Open champion Roddick to 52-13 for the year. Two-time Wimbledon finalist has won ATP titles this season at San Jose, California; Houston; Queens Club in London and Washington, and has 19 career overall. Meanwhile, in other first-round matches, Olivier Rochus of Belgium beat second-seeded Mariano Puerta of Argentina 4-6, 7-5, 6-3 and France's Sebastien Grosjean defeated Romania's Victor Hanescu 4-6, 6-3, 6-4. Also, Thomas Enqvist of Sweden beat Gregory Carraz of France 6-1, 6-4; France's Marc Gicquel defeated David Ferrer of Spain 6-4, 6-0; and French teenager Gael Monfils edged Jan Hernych of the Czech Republic 6-4, 5-7, 6-3. The 19-year-old Monfils won his first ATP title at Sopot, Poland, on clay in August. (AP)