(Sports Network) - Ninth-seeded Spaniard Fernando Verdasco and four-time champion Lleyton Hewitt were among Monday's opening-round winners at the $1.12 million Artois Championships, a grass-court tuneup for Wimbledon. Verdasco was leading Hyung-Taik Lee 5-3 when the Korean retired from the bout, while the 11th-seeded former world No. 1 Hewitt handled Brit Joshua Goodall 6-4, 6-4 at The Queen's Club. The Aussie Hewitt captured this event from 2000-02 and again in 2006.

Another seeded winner on Day 1 was No. 13 Serbian Janko Tipsarevic, who topped Spaniard Ivan Navarro 7-6 (7-2), 6-4.

Veteran Swede Jonas Bjorkman held off Russian Igor Kunitsyn 7-6 (7-3), 4-6, 6-4; while two-time major champion Marat Safin slipped past unknown Brit James Ward 4-6, 6-1, 6-4; Robby Ginepri took out fellow American Vincent Spadea 6-4, 7-6 (7-4); Latvian Ernests Gulbis grounded Belgian Kristof Vliegen 6-4, 7-5; and Frenchman Sebastien Grosjean beat South African Rik De Voest 7-6 (8-6), 6-1. Bjorkman is rewarded with a second-round match against top-seeded four- time French Open champion Rafael Nadal.

Additional wins came for Japan's Kei Nishikori, Aussies Joseph Sirianni and Chris Guccione, Croats Mario Ancic, Marin Cilic and Roko Karanusic, and Serbian Viktor Troicki. Karanusic will meet Serbian star Novak Djokovic in the round of 32. The second-seeded Djokovic is the reigning Aussie Open champ and U.S. Open runner-up.

On Tuesday, a second-round match will come for sixth-seeded British crowd favorite Andy Murray, who will be opposed by the veteran Grosjean.

Andy Roddick beat France's Nicolas Mahut in last year's finale here. The four- time winner Roddick also titled here from 2003-05. The two-time Wimbledon runner-up Roddick and former Wimbledon titlist Hewitt have combined for the last eight championships at The Queen's Club.

Roddick will open defense of his title here against his compatriot Ginepri.





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