Gilles Muller of Luxembourg upset second-seeded Richard Gasquet of France 6-3, 6-4 on Friday to move into the semi-finals of the Moselle Open.
Muller next faces 2005 champion Ivan Ljubicic, who beat Dutch qualifier Igor Sijsling 6-4, 6-3.
Top-seeded Jo-Wilfried Tsonga also advanced to the last four by rallying past Nicolas Mahut 4-6, 6-3, 7-5 in an all-French encounter to next play third-seeded Alexandr Dolgopolov of Ukraine, who was leading 6-3, 1-0 when Xavier Malisse of Belgium retired.
Photo: EPA
The 49th-ranked Muller was at his shot-making best in the first set, hitting 19 winners to only five for Gasquet.
Muller cracked three aces in a row to win the opening set. In the second set, he broke at 1-1 and then saved five break points to clinch victory when Gasquet sent a backhand return long.
In the first quarter-final, Ljubicic fired 13 aces, including one on match point. The fourth-seeded Croatian took the first set on a double fault from Sijsling, who was playing his first quarter-final on the main tour.
Ljubicic then broke serve to lead 4-2 in the next set.
Tsonga put Mahut under pressure at 5-5 in the final set, hitting two return winners and a forehand volley to earn three break chances.
He converted the first with a half-volley that landed on the line to serve for the match. Tsonga sealed the win by slamming an ace clocked at 214kph.
NASTASE TIRIAC TROPHY
AP, BUCHAREST, ROMANIA
Top-seeded Juan Ignacio Chela advanced to the semi-finals of the Nastase Tiriac Trophy on Friday by beating seventh-seeded Andreas Seppi of Italy 7-5, 6-3.
Chela next faces fourth-seeded Pablo Andujar of Spain, who defeated qualifier Alessandro Giannessi of Italy 6-3, 6-4. Chela beat Andujar in last year’s Bucharest final.
Second-seeded Florian Mayer of Germany also reached the semi-finals and plays against Filippo Volandri of Italy.
Mayer defeated Albert Ramos of Spain, 6-1, 6-2, while Volandri beat Brazilian Joao Souza 6-2, 6-0.
OUT AGAINST INDONESIA: Taiwan reached the semi-finals at the tournament for the first time by defeating Denmark, with Chou Tien-chen beating Viktor Axelsen Taiwan yesterday crashed out of the Thomas Cup team competition in Chengdu, China, but achieved their best result at the top-tier badminton event by reaching the semi-finals. Indonesia were too good in the semis, winning 3-0 to advance to today’s final against China, who eliminated Malaysia 3-1. In the opening singles of the men’s team clash at the Hi-Tech Zone Sports Center Gymnasium 2, Anthony Ginting defeated Taiwan’s Chou Tien-chen 21-18, 21-19 in 51 minutes, which put a huge hole in Taiwan’s aspirations to perhaps even make the final. In the men’s doubles, Fajar Alfian and Muhammad Ardianto downed Lee Yang and Wang
Rafael Nadal on Tuesday lost in straight sets to 31st-ranked Jiri Lehecka in the fourth round at the Madrid Open, while Taiwan’s Hsieh Su-wei advanced to the semi-finals in the women’s doubles. Nadal said that he was feeling good about his progress following his latest injury layoff. Nadal called it a “positive week” in every way and said his body held up well. “I was able to play four matches, a couple of tough matches,” Nadal said. “So very positive, winning three matches, playing four matches at the high level of tennis. I enjoyed a lot playing at home. I leave here with
When 42-1 underdog James ‘Buster’ Douglas shocked ‘Iron’ Mike Tyson 34 years ago at the Tokyo Dome, the result reverberated worldwide. Spectators at the 45,000-plus seater venue witnessed one of boxing’s biggest upsets as unbeaten heavyweight champion Tyson was knocked out in the 10th round by the unheralded Douglas in February 1990. Boxing returns to the famous venue on Monday for the first time since that unforgettable encounter when Japan’s undisputed super-bantamweight world champion Naoya ‘Monster’ Inoue puts his belts on the line against Mexican Luis Nery. The 31-year-old Inoue (26-0, 23 KOs) is a huge star in Japan and is just
Top-ranked Iga Swiatek on Saturday came through “the most intense and crazy final” she has ever contested to avenge her loss to Aryna Sabalenka in last year’s Madrid Open final with a grueling three hour, 11 minute victory in the Spanish capital. Coming back from 1-3 down in the decider and saving three match points in total, Swiatek claimed a 7-5, 4-6, 7-6 (9/7) victory to secure the Madrid Open trophy for the first time. “Well, who is going to say now that women’s tennis is boring, right?” Swiatek said. Swiatek, who picked up the 20th title of her career, and ninth at