Nicolas Kiefer upset third-seeded Tomas Berdych 6-3, 6-3 on Tuesday to advance to the second round of the Mercedes Cup in Stuttgart.
Kiefer beat Berdych for the first time in five matches. Berdych had been hoping for his second clay-court title in Germany this year, after winning in Munich.
Top-seed Gilles Simon of France advanced by defeating Philipp Petzschner of Germany 6-3, 6-4.
Another German, fifth-seeded Philipp Kohlschreiber, eased into the second round by beating Diego Junqueira of Argentina 6-3, 6-2.
Fabio Fognini of Italy dropped the first set but rallied to beat seventh-seeded Fabrice Santoro of France 5-7, 7-6 (3), 6-1.
With Germans enjoying a good day, Rainer Schuettler won only his second match on clay this year when he rallied to beat Ivo Minar of the Czech Republic 2-6, 7-6 (2), 6-4, and Mischa Zverev defeated Guillermo Garcia-Lopez of Spain 6-2, 6-4.
In an all-German encounter, Simon Greul beat Davis Cup player Andreas Beck 7-6 (4), 7-6 (5).
Alexandre Sidorenko of France defeated another Spaniard, Daniel Munoz-De La Nava, 7-6 (3), 1-6, 6-2.
Oscar Hernandez notched one Spanish victory when he beat Janko Tipsarevic of Serbia 6-4, 6-4, and Jeremy Chardy of France upset eight-seeded Jose Acasuso of Argentina 6-2, 7-6 (4).
■SWEDISH OPEN
AP, BASTAD, SWEDEN
Guillermo Canas of Argentina beat last year’s Wimbledon junior champion Grigor Dimitrov of Bulgaria 6-3, 7-6 (2) on Tuesday in the first round of the Swedish Open.
Juan Monaco beat eighth-seeded Maximo Gonzalez 7-6 (4), 3-6, 6-1 in an all-Argentine match.
Bjorn Phau of Germany, Potito Starace of Italy, Austria’s Daniel Koellerer, Peter Luczak of Australia, Kristof Vliegen of Belgium and Juan Monaco of Argentina also reached the second round.
■PRAGUE OPEN
AP, PRAGUE
Alla Kudryavtseva of Russia eliminated Nicole Vaidisova from the first round of the Prague Open on Tuesday, beating the Czech player 7-5, 6-2.
Timea Bacsinszky of Switzerland also advanced, beating sixth-seeded Magdalena Rybarikova of Slovakia 6-2, 7-6 (5), while Lucie Hradecka of the Czech Republic defeated Ksenia Pervak of Russia 6-3, 6-2 and Petra Kvitova of the Czech Republic beat Anna Lapuschenkova of Russia 6-1, 6-0.
■PALERMO OPEN
AP, PALERMO, ITALY
Maria Jose Martinez Sanchez of Spain ousted third-seed Alize Cornet of France 6-2, 6-2 in the first round of the Palermo Open on Tuesday.
Home favorite and top seed Flavia Pennetta began her 10th bid to win Palermo, easing into the second round with a 6-2, 6-3 win over Arantxa Parra Santonja from Spain.
Pennetta reached the final in 2004 and lost last year in the semi-finals to compatriot Sara Errani, who won the tournament.
Errani began her title defense by defeating Mariya Koryttseva.
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
Former US Masters champion Zach Johnson was left embarrassed after a foul-mouthed response to ironic cheers from spectators after a triple bogey at Augusta National on Friday. Johnson, the 2007 Masters winner, missed the cut after his three-over-par round of 75 left him on seven-over 151 for 36 holes, his six on the par-three 12th playing a big role in his downfall. Television footage showed Johnson reacting to sarcastic cheers and applause when he tapped in for the triple bogey by yelling: “Oh fuck off.” Such a response would be considered bad form in any golf tournament, but is particularly out of keeping
The sacred flame for the Paris Olympics was lit yesterday in Olympia, Greece, the birthplace of the ancient Games, in a ceremony inspired by antiquity and marked by messages of hope amid multiple global crises. “In ancient times, the Olympic Games brought together the Greek city states, even — and in particular — during times of war and conflict,” International Olympic Committee president Thomas Bach said. “Today, the Olympic Games are the only event that brings the entire world together in peaceful competition. Then as now, the Olympic athletes are sending this powerful message — yes, it is possible to compete fiercely