The first two matches on center court are done, although neither finished very quickly.
In the first match of the day, Dustin Brown of Jamaica beat Bjorn Phau of Germany, 7-6(3), 6-7(7), 6-4.
The dreadlocked Brown, who qualified for the main draw here in 2003, served 20 aces in his first ATP World Tour victory in North America.
"It could have gone either way, I'm just happy to be on the winning end," Brown said. "It's always two or three balls that decide a match like that. It was a close one."
Taylor Dent, the 2002 Newport champion, followed with a disappointing three-set loss to Go Soeda of Japan. Dent, known for his monster serve, couldn't find that weapon when he needed it most. Serving to stay in the match at 4-5 in the third, Dent got down 0-40 before losing the game, set and match.
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A pretty big upset just wrapped up on center court not long ago. Ryan Harrison, 18, beat No. 6 seed Karol Beck 6-1, 6-2.
The win for Harrison, a wild card entry into the main draw, was just his second this year on the ATP World Tour. Born in Shreveport, La., Harrison is ranked No. 262 in the world.
Beck, who is ranked 89th, is the second seeded player to fall today, joining No. 8 Taylor Dent. Another seed could fall before the day is out. No. 4 Olivier Rochus is down 4-1 in the first set to Edouard Roger-Vasselin.
Ryan Harrison on his convincing victory:
"I was serving pretty composed, and I felt like I was serving well, so I was putting pressure on him from the beginning. ... I wanted to keep myself on the offense and dictate."
Many American players aren't all that comfortable on grass courts, especially Newport's, but Harrison said he felt the surface suits his game rather well.
"I really think it's an ideal surface for me, because winning on this surface is about being athletic. You've got to make a lot of athletic plays," he said. "You really have to play smart and stable, and I think that's a good opportunity for me.
Center court update: No. 4 seed Olivier Rochus has battled back and is serving at 4-5 against Edouard-Roger-Vasselin.
Rochus did rebound from an awful start to beat Roger-Vasselin 7-6(2), 6-4 and advance. Turns out Rochus was the only seeded player to win on the tournament's first day. No. 6 Karol Beck and No. 8 Taylor Dent both went down.
Tuesday promises to be a much more interesting day, as top seed Sam Querrey, defending champ Rajeev Ram, Wimbledon marathon man Nicolas Mahut and American Mardy Fish, among others, all are in action.
Until then ...
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