Newport, RI -- (Sports Network) - Two-time defending champion Fabrice Santoro advanced, as the first round of the $500,000 Hall of Fame Tennis Championships was completed Thursday.

The second-seeded Frenchman defeated Italian Flavio Cipolla, 6-3, 7-5, in a match that was suspended in the first set Wednesday. Ten matches were on the schedule Wednesday, but only four were completed as heavy rain and lack of lighting here forced the remaining matches to be suspended at the International Tennis Hall of Fame, which will welcome Monica Seles as one of its newest members on Saturday.

In other first-round matches that were completed after being suspended in progress, seventh-seeded Kevin Kim advanced after Sebastien Grosjean retired with a right shoulder injury. The match was tied, after Kim dropped the first set, 4-6, before rallying to take the second, 6-3. Meanwhile, Samuel Groth posted a 7-5, 3-6, 6-3 victory over Ricardo Mello.

Other winners Thursday were eighth-seeded Ukrainian Sergiy Stakhovsky, who defeated Frank Dancevic 7-6 (11-9), 2-6, 7-5; Olivier Rochus, who took a 6-2, 4-6, 6-4 win over Alexander Peya; and Rajeev Ram, who downed Alejandro Falla, 6-4, 7-5.

A number of second-round matches scheduled for Thursday, when play did not begin until the afternoon, were pushed back to Friday.

The 2009 Newport champion will collect $79,000.