French Open champion Li Na retired with a sore back in the second set of her opening match at the Open GDF Suez against Tsvetana Pironkova on Tuesday.
The third-seeded Li took a medical timeout while trailing 7-6 (7/5), 3-2 to have her lower back massaged by a physiotherapist and she played a couple more points before retiring.
“I was feeling my back ... It was so painful,” Li said. “That’s why I called the physio to come to the court. I tried to tape and then tried to play the point, but it didn’t work. I’ll go to the hospital to take an MRI to see what happened.”
Photo: Reuters
Li rallied from a 5-0 deficit to force a tiebreaker, but she then double-faulted at 3-2 to give Pironkova a mini-break. The unseeded Bulgarian took the first set on a forehand error from Li, before jumping out to a 3-1 lead in the second.
“I played last week in the Fed Cup in Israel, I played some good matches which helped for my form and for my confidence,” Pironkova said. “So I felt pretty good coming here and I’m glad I could show it on the court today against such a world-class player.”
Petra Cetkovska of the Czech Republic, Petra Martic of Croatia and Chanelle Scheepers of South Africa also advanced to the second round, along with three German players — Julia Goerges, Angelique Kerber and Mona Barthel.
Photo: AFP
Goerges cruised past Shahar Peer of Israel 6-1, 6-3.
The sixth-seeded German won nine straight games to take the first set and go 4-0 up in the second.
Kerber beat Lucie Safarova of the Czech Republic 6-2, 7-6 (7/3).
A two-time finalist at the tournament, Safarova served seven double faults and made numerous unforced errors.
Kerber broke Safarova twice in the first set. The US Open semi-finalist then won five straight points to lead 5-1 in the tiebreaker, clinching victory when Safarova’s backhand return sailed long.
Scheepers ousted Polona Hercog of Slovenia 6-2, 6-2, Barthel eased past Barbora Zahlavova Strycova of the Czech Republic 6-3, 6-2, Cetkovska defeated Italian lucky loser Alberta Brianti 6-3, 6-3 and Martic beat Greta Arn of Hungary 6-4, 6-4.
Fourth-seeded Jelena Jankovic withdrew on Tuesday because of a left-thigh strain she picked up in Serbia’s 3-2 win over Belgium in the Fed Cup last week.
? PATTAYA OPEN
AP, PATTAYA, Thailand
Russia’s Vera Zvonareva easily advanced to the quarter-finals of the Pattaya Open yesterday with a 6-3, 6-3 victory over Akgul Amanmuradova of Uzbekistan.
Zvonareva is looking for her third Pattaya title and she led 5-1 in the second set, before being broken when she tried to serve out the match.
However, she broke right back to clinch the victory.
The eighth-ranked Zvonareva will play Sorana Cirstea of Romania, who beat Japan’s Misaki Doi 6-2, 6-2.
Thai veteran Tamarine Tanasugarn also advanced to the quarter-finals after saving three set points in the first-set tiebreaker to defeat Chang Kai-chen of Taiwan 7-6 (9/7), 6-3.
EVERY DAY A VICTORY: Players on the women’s team faced pressure from society just getting out onto the field as they prepare for their first Women’s Asian Cup game today Bangladesh’s national soccer team face daunting odds at their first-ever Women’s Asian Cup, but have already scored a major victory by qualifying. In the South Asian nation of 170 million, social stigma, family expectations, poverty and religious hardliners have long relegated women and girls to sports sidelines. The first women’s soccer league matches took place in 2011 and the squad, known to fans as the Red and Green, have kept pressing forward despite deeply embedded prejudices. “Many more girls would have joined us if the community had been even slightly supportive,” captain Afeida Khandaker told AFP ahead of her side’s March 3
Soccer officials yesterday offered “full support and assistance” to the Iranian team in Australia for the AFC Women’s Asian Cup after the US and Israel launched massive attacks on their homeland. Iran’s 26-strong squad arrived on the Gold Coast days before the strikes on Saturday killed supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, as Washington and Tel Aviv seek to topple the Islamic republic. They are due to open their tournament today against South Korea. The AFC in a statement said it “continues to closely monitor the recent developments in the Middle East during this challenging period.” “The AFC’s foremost priority remains the welfare, safety and
ROAD RASH: Marc Marquez retired after a crash, marking the first time after 88 consecutive races stretching back to 2021 that a Ducati bike failed to make the podium Marco Bezzecchi yesterday won the MotoGP season-opening grand prix in Thailand from pole position as defending world champion Marc Marquez retired late with a buckled wheel. Aprilia’s Bezzecchi led from start to finish to top the podium in Buriram, with KTM’s Pedro Acosta second and Trackhouse’s Raul Fernandez third. Ducati’s Marquez is chasing a record-equaling eighth world title this season, but he exited the race in dramatic fashion while in fourth place with five laps to go. The Spaniard, who started from second on the grid, took a corner wide, with the jolt to his bike dislodging the rear tire, badly damaging his
Liverpool on Tuesday suffered an embarrassing 2-1 defeat at Wolverhampton Wanderers as Andre’s stoppage-time strike sealed a dramatic victory for the English Premier League’s bottom club. Arne Slot’s side fell behind to Rodrigo Gomes’ strike in the closing stages at Molineux. Mohamed Salah hauled Liverpool level with his first goal in 11 top-flight games dating back to November last year. However, Andre’s first goal for Wolves inflicted the latest humbling loss in a chastening season for Liverpool. It was the first time the Premier League’s bottom club had beaten the reigning champions since Crystal Palace defeated Chelsea in 2017. Liverpool
RSS