Novak Djokovic opened his bid for a third BNP Paribas Open championship with an easy victory on Saturday, dispatching qualifier Andrey Golubev 6-3, 6-2.
The top-ranked Djokovic, a winner over Rafael Nadal last year in the finale at the Indian Wells Tennis Garden and also the 2008 champion, is 23-4 on the slow PlexiPave courts that he said favor his game. The Serbian star will face South Africa’s Kevin Anderson in the third round.
Djokovic also beat Golubev, from Kazakhstan, in the second round last year.
Photo: AFP
In the late match, Spain’s Guillermo Garcia-Lopez upset fourth-seeded Andy Murray of Scotland 6-4, 6-2.
Maria Sharapova and Caroline Wozniacki, the top seeds in the bottom half of the women’s draw, took easy first steps toward a possible meeting in the semi-finals.
The second-seeded Sharapova, the 2006 tournament champion, beat Gisella Dulko of Argentina, 6-2, 6-0 to kick off the night session on Stadium Court after last year’s champion and No. 4 seed Wozniacki closed the afternoon schedule with a 6-2, 6-0 victory over Ekaterina Makarova of Russia. In the third round, Sharapova will play Simona Halep of Romania and Wozniacki will face Sofia Arvidsson of Sweden.
Americans John Isner and Andy Roddick won their opening matches, too. Isner, the No. 11 seed, posted a routine 7-5, 6-3 victory over Frederico Gil of Portugal. However, Roddick, who is at his lowest ranking (31) since August 2001, needed a long three sets to dispatch Poland’s Lukasz Kubot, 4-6, 7-6 (7/5), 6-3.
Roddick, who will meet No. 8 seed Tomas Berdych of the Czech Republic in the third round, won the second-set tiebreaker with a forehand that appeared long, but went unchallenged. And he took control of the third set after Kubot needed a visit from an ATP Tour trainer for a back problem after holding serve for a 3-2 lead.
No. 8 seed Mardy Fish and teenager Ryan Harrison also won to make it a productive day for the US contingent.
Berdych got by Sergly Stakhovsky of the Ukraine, 6-7 (2/7), 6-3, 6-4. Frenchman Gilles Simon moved into the third round after a three-set win over qualifier Dudi Sela of Israel, but No. 16 seed Richard Gasquet of France was beaten by Albert Ramos of Spain, 3-6, 7-5, 6-1, after having a match point in the second set. The US’ Robby Ginepri bowed to Stanislas Wawrinka of Switzerland, 4-6, 6-4, 6-4.
Ana Ivanovic of Serbia, the women’s No. 15 seed, opened the day on Stadium Court with an easy 6-1, 6-2 triumph over Johanna Larsson of Sweden. No. 6 Samantha Stosur of Australia, No. 10 Francesca Schiavone of Italy and No. 16 Dominika Cibulkova of Slovakia also advanced. However, No. 11 Sabine Lisicki was upset, 6-1, 6-4, by Lourdes Dominguez-Lino of Spain.
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
Taiwan’s Lee Jhe-huei and Yang Po-hsuan on Saturday won the men’s doubles bronze medal at the Badminton Asia Championships in Ningbo, China, after they were bested by the hosts in their semi-final. The Taiwanese shuttlers lost to China’s Liang Wei Keng and Wang Chang, who advanced to yesterday’s final against Malaysia’s Goh Sze Fei and Nur Izzudin. The Chinese pair outplayed Lee and Yang in straight games. Although the Taiwanese got off to a slow start in the first game, they eventually tied it 14-14, before Liang and Wang went on to blow past them to win 21-17. In the second game, Lee and