Landaluce edges Arnaldi in three sets in Cincinnati opener

Martin Landaluce came through a tight three-setter against Matteo Arnaldi 6-4 4-6 6-4 in the Cincinnati round of 64, taking the opening set, losing the second and holding firm in the decider. The margin lay on second serve: the Spaniard won 48.8 percent of those points against 38.6 percent for the Italian, enough to offset his seven double faults. Arnaldi struck eight aces to four and landed 52.7 percent of first serves to 51.8, but neither man found much rhythm behind the first delivery. For Landaluce, it was a hard-earned win at Masters 1000 level.