Spadea downs Ljubicic at Lyon Grand Prix

Lyon: Vince Spadea of the United States upset fourth-seeded Ivan Ljubicic of Croatia 7-6 (5), 7-5 and No. 8 Robby Ginepri retired with an illness Wednesday, eliminating two more seeds from the first round of the Lyon Grand Prix. The loss for Ljubicic was his second in four days, following a five-set defeat to Rafael Nadal in Sunday's Madrid Masters final which ended a 16-match win streak that included titles in Metz and Vienna. "I think what made the difference today was my energy level,'' Ljubicic said. "I gave it all I had but it wasn't enough. Also Vince was a tough first round opponent, he picks up my serve better than most players and I've lost to him several times in the past.'' Ljubicic and Ginepri join No. 2 Mariano Puerta and No. 6 David Ferrer who were beaten on Tuesday. Spadea plays France's Michael Llodra in the second round. Seventh-seeded Mario Ancic of Croatia advanced, beating Thomas Enqvist of Sweden 6-7 (4), 7-6 (5). In other first-round matches, Fabrice Santoro of France rallied from 1-4 in the second set to beat Taylor Dent of the United States 6-3, 7-5, Olivier Rochus of Belgium defeated Novak Djokovic of Serbia-Montenegro 7-6 (4), 7-5 and Nicolas Mahut downed fellow Frenchman Julien Benneteau 6-4, 7-5. (AP)