US teen Ryan Harrison became the third-youngest player in 18 years to win an ATP match, defeating Pablo Cuevas of Uruguay 6-4, 6-3 at the ATP US Men’s Clay Court Championship.
Harrison, 15, on Monday became the 10th player in the Open Era to win an ATP match at such a young age. He joins Richard Gasquet and world No. 2 Rafael Nadal as the only 15-year-olds to win a match since 1990.
Ranked 1,277 in the world, Harrison could face top-seeded US player James Blake in the next round.
PHOTO :AP
Blake captured a pair of singles wins in the US’s 4-1 victory over France in the Davis Cup quarter-finals over the weekend.
Clay has been a difficult surface for the American, although Blake did show some signs of improvement with an appearance in the semi-final in Houston last year.
However, it did not translate over to the French Open, as the 28-year-old fell to Ivo Karlovic in the first round.
The second seed is Germany’s Tommy Haas, who won this event in 2004.
Haas also will begin play later in the week, squaring off against Russia’s Igor Kunitsyn.
Karlovic, the defending champion, is not entered in the draw.
Rising star Donald Young posted a 6-3, 7-6 (7/5) win over Spanish qualifier Fernando Vicente on Monday.
Also moving on was US wild card Hugo Armando with a 6-3, 4-6, 7-5 victory over Carlos Berlocq of Argentina.
In a matchup of Americans, Wayne Odesnik dispatched Amer Delic 6-3, 6-3.
US track and field athletes have about four dozen pieces to choose from when assembling their uniforms at the Olympics. The one grabbing the most attention is a high-cut leotard that barely covers the bikini line and has triggered debate between those who think it is sexist and others who say they do not need the Internet to make sure they have good uniforms. Among those critical or laughing at the uniforms included Paralympian Femita Ayanbeku, sprinter Britton Wilson and even athletes from other countries such as Britain’s Abigail Irozuru, who wrote on social media: “Was ANY female athlete consulted in
Four-time NBA all-star DeMarcus Cousins arrived in Taiwan with his family early yesterday to finish his renewed contract with the Taiwan Beer Leopards in the T1 League. Cousins initially played a four-game contract with the Leopards in January. On March 18, the Taoyuan-based team announced that Cousins had renewed his contract. “Hi what’s up Leopard fans, I’m back. I’m excited to be back and can’t wait to join the team,” Cousins said in a video posted on the Leopard’s Facebook page. “Most of all, can’t wait to see you guys, the fans, next weekend. So make sure you come out and support the Beer
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