Dent wins first match at Mercedes Cup

Former Corona del Mar High standout Taylor Dent, coming off his

first singles title on the Association of Tennis Professionals Tour,

won his opening-round match Monday in the Mercedes-Benz Cup at the

Los Angeles Tennis Center at UCLA.

Dent, who captured the Hall of Fame Invitational last week in

Newport, R.I., defeated Neville Godwin of Johannesburg, South Africa,

6-3, 6-4, and will face either seventh-seeded Xavier Malisse or

qualifier Scott Draper in the second round.

Dent, a CIF Southern Section singles champion as a CdM freshman in

1996, put his family in the history books with his title in the Hall

of Fame Invitational. He and his father, Phil, became the first

father and son to win an ATP Tour event.