Intro:

Tennis stars came out in support of the late Elena Baltacha before the evening session at the Madrid Open.

Qualifier Santiago Giraldo beat Lleyton Hewitt in three sets in the first round of the Madrid Open on Monday (May 5th).

Script:

The start of the evening session from day one of the Madrid Open was rightly devoted to the passing on Sunday evening of Elena Baltacha.

The Former British No 1 lost her battle with liver cancer and tennis world paid there respects on court before play.

A popular player on the tour, the Ukranian born clearly touched many hearts on the player circuit.

The tennis itself was of a high quality. Qualifier Santiago Giraldo was up against former Wimbledon Champion Lleyton Hewitt.

The Australian looked to dictate from the net, however the Colombian looked in good nick.

Hewitt was a Madrid Open finalist back in the year 2000, yet the Australian veteran now sits at No 43 in the world and he lost the opening set to the youngster 7-5.

As ever, Hewitt fought back to take the second set and level the match.

However, Giraldo moved up a gear in the third set and his power from the baseline restricted Hewitt's game at the net. The Colombian took it 6-2 to complete a 7-5, 4-6, 6-2 victory.

The world number 46's prize for his efforts will be a second round meeting with Jo-Wilfried Tsonga.

Grigor Dimitrov is one of the form players of the season and he looked in control against Spain's Pablo Carreno Busta. Taking the first 6-2.

Bulgarian Dimitrov, the number 12 seed, clinched a 6-2, 6-4 victory and will face Romania's Marius Copil in the second round.