Sela nets rare clay win; Pe’er victorious as well

Pe’er looking to record consecutive victories for the first time since February; Sela faces tough test against world No. 12.

By ALLON SINAI
Israel's Dudi Sela 370 (photo credit: Asaf Kliger)
Israel's Dudi Sela 370
(photo credit: Asaf Kliger)
Dudi Sela won his first ATP Tour match on clay in more than two years on Tuesday, beating Romania’s Adrian Ungur 7-6 (2), 6-2 in the first round of the Bucharest International.
The 27-year-old Israeli, ranked No. 63 in the world, chose to forgo the French Open and most of the European clay-court season last year to gather much-needed ranking points on the Challenger circuit.
However, he is determined to succeed on the red surface he so hates this year, especially as he needs points to secure his progress to the London Olympics.
After opening his clay-court season with a win over Ungur (93), Sela faces a far trickier hurdle in the second round when he comes up against No. 1 seed and world No. 12 Gilles Simon.
Elsewhere, Shahar Pe’er (54) won her first clay court match of the year, beating Magdalena Rybarikova (90) 5-7, 6-3, 7- 5 in the first round of the Fes Grand Prix in Morocco.
Pe’er, who played with a black armband to commemorate Remembrance Day in Israel, will face France’s Mathilde Johansson in the second round, looking to record consecutive victories for the first time since February.