Robin Soderling barely broke a sweat as he routed Argentina’s Diego Junqueira 6-0, 6-1 on Wednesday to reach the quarter-finals of the Swedish Open.
The top-seeded Swede will next face Italy’s Potito Starace, who opened strongly, but was pushed to three sets in a 6-0, 6-7 (5), 6-2 win over Jonathan Dasnieres De Veigy of France.
Third-seeded Thomas Berdych of the Czech Republic is also through to the quarter-finals after defeating Russian Teymuraz Gabashvili 6-2, 6-2.
Juan Monaco of Argentina, Spain’s Ruben Ramirez Hildago and Andreas Haider-Maurer of Austria won their first-round matches and will be back in action on Thursday to fight for slots in the quarters.
MERCEDES OPEN
AP, STUTTGART, GERMANY
Victor Hanescu of Romania saved two match points before beating top-seeded Gael Monfils 2-6, 7-6 (7), 6-4 in the first round of the Mercedes Cup on Wednesday.
The match was suspended because of rain on Tuesday, with Monfils leading 4-2 in the first set. After clinching the set when the match resumed on Wednesday, the Frenchman had two match points in the second-set tiebreaker, but Hanescu saved them and went on to complete his first win over a top-10 player after 11 losses.
“To lose in the first round after two match points is hard, I am very disappointed,” said Monfils, who had 13 aces.
Monfils reached the final of the tournament last year, only to be forced to abandon the match against Albert Montanes of Spain because of injury.
Montanes also lost on Wednesday, going down 2-6, 6-4, 6-3 to fellow Spaniard Pablo Andujar.
Marcel Granollers of Spain defeated seventh-seeded Andreas Seppi of Italy 6-3, 3-6, 6-1.
Six of the eight seeded players have lost in the first round.
GASTEIN LADIES
AP, BAD GASTEIN, AUSTRIA
Russia’s Ksenia Pervak saved six match points before reaching the quarter-finals of the Gastein Ladies by beating 16-year-old Nastja Kolar of Slovenia 4-6, 7-6 (8), 6-2.
The eighth-seeded Pervak — the only seeded player to advance from the first round — will meet Laura Pous-Tio of Spain, who beat Germany’s Kristina Barrois 7-6 (6), 7-6 (5).
Carla Suarez Navarro, playing in her first WTA event since February, also advanced by defeating fellow Spanish player Arantxa Parra Santonja 6-3, 6-3 after saving all five break points she faced in the second set.
Suarez Navarro next plays Kateryna Bondarenko of Ukraine. The 88th-ranked Bondarenko beat Sweden’s Johanna Larsson, who reached the final in her native Bastad last week, 7-5, 6-0.
In a late first-round match, Austria’s Sybille Bammer, who came out of retirement for this event, rallied to beat sixth-seeded Simona Halep of Romania 4-6, 7-5, 7-6 (6).
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