Aljaz Bedene opens at Nottingham with win over Diego Schwartzman
Aljaz Bedene warmed up for his first Wimbledon since switching nationality to British by beating Diego Schwartzman in one of just five completed first-round matches at the rain-hit Nottingham Open on Monday.
The Slovenia-born Bedene, who was granted British citizenship in March, won 6-1, 6-7 (5), 6-2 against his Argentine opponent and will play eighth-seeded Frenchman Adrian Mannarino in the second round.
Santiago Giraldo of Colombia won 6-1, 1-6, 6-1 against Andreas Haider-Maurer of Austria, while Simone Bolelli, Malek Jaziri and Dudi Sela were all straight-sets winners before rain washed out play in the late afternoon and evening.
The top seeds are in action on Tuesday, with David Ferrer, Feliciano Lopez and Gilles Simon all starting their title challenges. Ferrer plays Marcos Baghdatis in the headline match.
