Host Vietnam's hopes were dashed when its top-ranked player Do Minh Quan was defeated on Monday by Bjorn Phau of Germany 6-3, 6-2 during the first round of the ATP Vietnam Open.
During a match that lasted just under an hour, Phau, ranked 107, quickly dominated local favorite Minh Quan, who had been a wild card in the tournament.
Players in the weeklong tournament, being held in Phu Tho Indoor Sports Complex in Ho Chi Minh City, are competing for a purse of US$380,000.
It is the first time Vietnam has hosted an international-level tennis tournament.
Monday's opening ceremony included dance performances on the indoor courts by women in traditional Vietnamese dress. The tournament runs through Oct. 2.
In the other singles match of the day, Lu Yen-hsun of Taiwan easily defeated Antony Dupuis of France, 6-1, 6-4.
In the first round of doubles matches, Juan Pablo Brzezicki and Juan Monaco of Argentina defeated Australian Stephen Huss and South African Wesley Moodie during a hard-fought game, 6-5 (4), 4-6, 6-5 (2).
Germany's Lars Burgsmuller and Philipp Kohlschreiber beat duo Jaroslav Levinsky and Radek Stepanek from the Czech Republic 5-6 (2), 6-3, 6-4.
Alexander Popp of Germany and Jiri Vanek from the Czech Republic defeated Australia's Jordan Kerr and American Travis Parrott, 6-4, 6-5 (5).
A sumo star was born in Japan on Sunday when 24-year-old Takerufuji became the first wrestler in 110 years to win a top-division tournament on his debut, triumphing at the 15-day Spring Grand Sumo Tournament in Osaka despite injuring his ankle on the penultimate day. Takerufuji, whose injury had left him in a wheelchair outside the ring, shoved out the higher-ranked Gonoyama at the Edion Arena Osaka to the delight of the crowd, giving him an unassailable record of 13 wins and two losses to claim the Emperor’s Cup. “I did it just through willpower. I didn’t really know what was going
The US’ Ilia Malinin on Saturday produced six scintillating quadruple jumps, including a quadruple Axel, in the men’s free skate to capture his first figure skating world title. The 19-year-old nicknamed the “Quad god,” who is the only skater to land a quadruple Axel in competition, dazzled with an array of breathtakingly executed jumps starting with his quad Axel and including a quadruple Lutz in combination with a triple flip and a quadruple toe loop in combination with a triple toe. He added an unexpected triple-triple combination at the end to earn a world-record 227.79 in the free program for a championship
Shohei Ohtani’s interpreter is being criminally investigated by the IRS, and the attorney for his alleged bookmaker said Thursday that the ex-Los Angeles Dodgers employee placed bets on international soccer — but not baseball. The IRS confirmed Thursday that interpreter Ippei Mizuhara and Mathew Bowyer, the alleged illegal bookmaker, are under criminal investigation through the agency’s Los Angeles Field Office. IRS Criminal Investigation spokesperson Scott Villiard said he could not provide additional details. Mizuhara, 39, was fired by the Dodgers on Wednesday following reports from the Los Angeles Times and ESPN about his alleged ties to an illegal bookmaker and debts well
MLB on Friday announced a formal investigation into the scandal swirling around Shohei Ohtani and his former interpreter amid charges that the Los Angeles Dodgers superstar was the victim of “massive theft.” The Dodgers on Wednesday fired Ippei Mizuhara, Ohtani’s long-time interpreter and close friend, after Ohtani’s representatives alleged that the Japanese two-way star had been the victim of theft, which was reported to involve millions of dollars and link Mizuhara to a suspected illegal bookmaker in California. “Major League Baseball has been gathering information since we learned about the allegations involving Shohei Ohtani and Ippei Mizuhara from the news media,” MLB