Lopez Wins in Houston Debut, Top Seeds Isner, Fish to play on Thursday

Feliciano Lopez won his debut match in Houston on Wednesday by stopping Paolo Lorenzi 6-4, 7-6(4). The Spaniard, ranked No. 15 in the world, fired 13 aces during the match and rallied from 1-4 in the first set at the U.S. Men’s Clay Court Championships at the River Oaks Country Club.   Seven Americans have reached the second round at the US Men’s Clay Court Championships, the most since 2005. Top seeds Mardy Fish, John Isner and Juan Monaco. Swing into action on Thursday. All three had opening round byes. With his win, Carlos Berlocq is now tied with David Ferrer for second most clay court wins during the 2012 season 12. Nicolas Almagro boasts a 14-2 record on the surface. Ferrer is 12-0 while Berlocq has moved to 12-4. Berlocq has reached his fifth consecutive clay tournament quarterfinal in 2012, while Feliciano Lopez is through to his first quarterfinal of the year. Lopez, who was making his clay court debut for the season, brings a 1-0 head-to-head advantage into their Friday q...