Simon, Almagro upset in Metz; Karlovic advances

Gilles Simon lost the last five games of the final set and was eliminated by Nicolas Mahut 6-4, 3-6, 6-1 Tuesday in the first round of the Open de Moselle.

Also ousted was Nicolas Almagro, a two-time winner on tour this year who fell to Eduardo Schwank 7-6 (5), 6-2.

Top-seeded Ivo Karlovic, No. 5 Paul-Henri Mathieu and No. 5 Dmitry Tursunov safely advanced to the second round.

Karlovic was trailing Marcos Baghdatis of Cyprus 4-6, 2-1 when Baghdatis retired with a back injury. Karlovic next meets Carlos Moya.

Mathieu beat Nicolas Devilder 6-0, 6-2, while Tursunov hit 14 aces but had a tough time overcoming qualifier Thierry Ascione 6-7 (3), 6-2, 6-4.

Also, Victor Hanescu beat 2005 champion Ivan Ljubicic 6-1, 7-6 (4); 440th-ranked Romaine Jouan won his ATP debut against Agustin Calleri 5-7, 6-1, 6-2; and Marc Gicquel topped Marcel Granollers of Spain 6-3, 6-2.
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