ESPN Tennis

HOUSTON -- James Blake used his strong forehand to overwhelm Italian Davide Sanguinetti, beating him 6-3, 6-0 Tuesday night in the first round of the U.S. Clay Court Tennis Championships.

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The second-seeded American needed just 59 minutes to dispatch Sanguinetti, who at one point in the second set bowed in awe of Blake's unrelenting forehand winners.

"Please, don't wake me up," Blake said on court after the Italian's respectful gesture.

Blake, coming off two singles wins in the 4-1 U.S. win over Spain in Davis Cup in Winston-Salem, N.C., last weekend, told the crowd after the match that he is feeling more certain about his game from the team's victory.

"It's amazing what a little confidence can do for your game," he said.

His forehand was dominant throughout the match. He used it to close out the second set on his sixth match point when he hit yet another winner off that wing.

"That's what I need to do is go after my forehand," he said. "That's what dictates whether I'm playing well or play badly."

Just before Blake's match, fifth-seeded Jurgen Melzer of Austria beat Rainer Schuettler of Germany 6-2, 3-6, 6-1.

Earlier Tuesday, defending champion Mardy Fish rallied from a set down to beat Argentine Martin Vassallo Arguello 5-7, 6-2, 7-5.

The fourth-seeded American came back after dropping his first two service games in the deciding set. He rallied and broke Vassallo Arguello in the fourth, sixth and final game.

Windy conditions hampered both players.

"Tough conditions out here today, and he's a very streaky player," Fish told the crowd. "He plays very well when he's on and gives you some looks when he's not. He played well in the third set at the beginning and I picked up my game a little bit and I was lucky enough to win in the end."

Fish dropped his serve a second time late in the first set, failing to get any first serves in, and Vassallo Arguello closed it out in the next game to lead.

The Argentine broke Fish's serve in the second set's opening game but the American stiffened and broke right back. The world's No. 42 ranked player then broke Vassallo Arguello in the sixth game on a backhand winner up the line before closing the second set after earning another break.

In other matches Tuesday, Albert Montanes of Spain defeated Alex Peya of Austria, 6-3, 6-2. Peya got into the draw as a lucky loser out of the qualifying draw after top-seeded Andy Roddick pulled out Monday.

Roddick withdrew because of a hamstring injury that he "tweaked" again in Davis Cup play last week. Roddick has played in five of the past six finals in Houston and won three of them.

Also, Dusan Vemic of Serbia beat Ruben Ramirez Hidalgo of Spain 6-3, 6-0, and Mariano Zabaleta of Argentina ousted Ryan Sweeting 6-0, 7-6 (8).

In first-round matches involving four Americans, Amer Delic beat Robert Kendrick 6-3, 1-6, 7-5 and Michael Russell defeated Paul Goldstein 6-2, 6-0.

Copyright 2007 by The Associated Press