Rafa Nadal urged tournament organizers to make more consistent surfaces for hard-court events after easing past Taylor Dent of the US 6-2, 7-5 to make the third round of the Cincinnati Masters on Wednesday.
The Spanish world No. 1 came back from 4-2 down in the second set to defeat 83rd-ranked Dent, but was unhappy that he had to adjust to a much faster court than last week’s surface in Toronto.
“It is something [that] in the future the tournaments can work to make the courts more similar,” Nadal told reporters. “For us, it’s difficult to adapt, especially if you only have one or two days. When you get to semi-finals or final, it’s not easy to adapt, especially in the beginning of the tournament. So it’s big change. This first match always is very dangerous.”
After struggling in the first set, journeyman Dent’s serve improved noticeably in the second and he threatened to make life complicated for the Spaniard when he broke him to take a 4-2 lead, but Nadal broke twice to go 6-5 up, before serving out the match to set up a third-round encounter with Frenchman Julien Benneteau, who defeated Switzerland’s Stanislas Wawrinka in straight sets.
Roger Federer went through after his Uzbeki opponent Denis Istomin had to retire with an ankle injury when 5-2 down in the first set.
He was joined by third seed Novak Djokovic and fourth seed Andy Murray as the form book proved a reliable guide, despite none of the leading players truly sparkling.
Murray needed three sets to deal with France’s Jeremy Chardy, losing his rhythm after winning the opening set 6-3 as his aggressive opponent mixed 53 unforced errors with 44 winners.
The Scot lost the second set tiebreak 7-3, but won the third 6-2 after the Frenchman took a medical time-out for foot treatment.
Murray agreed that it was tricky to switch to the high-speed court.
“It can be difficult. You don’t have a whole lot of time to get used to the conditions here. They’re very different. The court’s much faster than Toronto and the balls are moving a lot quicker,” Murray said.
Spain’s Fernando Verdasco was the only surprise victim, losing to 36th-ranked Mardy Fish of the US. Fish, who has credited his recent surge in form to weight loss, entered the tournament on a wild-card, but played some inspired tennis to beat Verdasco in two tiebreaks.
Serbian world No. 3 Novak Djokovic also progressed in straight sets, defeating compatriot Viktor Troicki 6-3, 7-5.
Bayer 04 Leverkusen go into today’s match at TSG 1899 Hoffenheim stung from their first league defeat in 16 months. Leverkusen were beaten 3-2 at home by RB Leipzig before the international break, the first loss since May last year for the reigning league and cup champions. While any defeat, particularly against a likely title rival, would have disappointed coach Xabi Alonso, the way in which it happened would be most concerning. Just as they did in the Supercup against VfB Stuttgart and in the league opener to Borussia Moenchengladbach, Leverkusen scored first, but were pegged back. However, while Leverkusen rallied late to
The lights dimmed and the crowd hushed as Karoline Kristensen entered for her performance. However, this was no ordinary Dutch theater: The temperature was 80°C and the audience naked apart from a towel. Dressed in a swimsuit and to the tune of emotional music, the 21-year-old Kristensen started her routine, performed inside a large sauna, with a bed of hot rocks in the middle. For a week this month, a group of wellness practitioners, called “sauna masters,” are gathering at a picturesque health resort in the Netherlands to compete in this year’s Aufguss world sauna championships. The practice takes its name from a
Japanese players are moving to English soccer in record numbers and more look set to follow with clubs attracted by their quality, strong work ethic and value for money. Kaoru Mitoma is the standout talent of five Japanese players in the English Premier League, with eight more in the Championship and two in League One. Liverpool midfielder Wataru Endo, the captain of Japan, believes his compatriots are “being held in higher esteem” by English clubs compared with the past. “The staff at Liverpool ask me about lots of Japanese players, not necessarily with a view to a transfer, but just saying this or
Taiwan yesterday survived Bosnia and Herzegovina to win their Davis Cup World Group I tie at the Taipei Tennis Center. The tight series started on Saturday with world No. 123 Jason Tseng losing 3-6, 7-5, 6-4 to Mirza Basic in the opening singles matchup. However, teammate Tony Wu kept the tie even, dominating world No. 86 Damir Dzumhur 6-2, 6-1. Yesterday, 24-year-old Ray Ho and partner 25-year-old Hsu Yu-hsiou kept up the momentum, making short work of Basic and Nerman Fatic, winning 6-3, 6-4. Tseng then suffered another defeat, losing 6-4, 2-6, 6-2 to Dzumhur in a brutal match that lasted more than two