Novak Djokovic needed three sets to win his first match on the blue clay at the Madrid Open on Tuesday and then stepped up his criticism of the new surface.
Djokovic labored to a 6-2, 2-6, 6-3 victory over Daniel Gimeno-Traver of Spain in his debut on the Magic Box’s unorthodox surface, after top-ranked Victoria Azarenka and Maria Sharapova both beat Czech opponents to advance in the women’s event.
Djokovic, who had already voiced his opposition to the blue clay, was left fuming over the condition of center court, which he said was completely different to the practice courts he trained on before the event.
Photo: AFP
“To me that’s not tennis. Either I come out with football shoes or I invite Chuck Norris to advise me how to play on this court,” said Djokovic, who like Rafael Nadal has been critical of the new-look surface. “Center court is impossible to move on. I hit five balls throughout the whole match. With everything else, I was just trying to keep the ball in the court.”
The ATP reiterated that the new surface is in a test period this year and that a decision on whether to use it again will be made after this event.
The defending champion was cruising until the second set when his 137th-ranked Spanish opponent broke for 2-1. Djokovic then made four straight unforced errors in his next service game — including two double faults — to go down 4-1.
Djokovic complained about the surface throughout, but managed to get his emotions in check and his game together to take a decisive 4-2 lead in the third set before sealing his 25th match win of the season.
“When you slide on the red clay you have a feeling you can stop and recover from that step, but here, whatever you do ... you are always slipping,” said Djokovic, who hit 20 winners to 24 unforced errors. “Not a single player — not woman, not man — I didn’t hear anyone say: ‘I like blue clay.’”
The women’s top two overcame dips in concentration to put away mistake-prone opponents. Azarenka held off Andrea Hlavackova’s challenge to win 6-3, 7-6 (7/2) after Sharapova beat Klara Zakopalova 6-4, 6-3.
Caroline Wozniacki and Serena Williams will meet in the last 16 after both won their second-round matches. Wozniacki beat Mona Barthel of Germany 6-4, 7-6 (7/2), while Williams was a 6-2, 6-1 winner over Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova of Russia.
Azarenka has already won four titles this year, including the Australian Open, but showed less convincing form on the blue surface.
“I felt like a lost a little bit of my concentration,” Azaranka said. “I didn’t adjust well to some of the obstacles that happened, but I’m glad that I could turn it around pretty quickly and finish the match in my favor.”
The Belarusian took the opening set without too many worries before stumbling toward the end of the second set as she double-faulted to be broken for Hlavackova to tie it up 5-5.
Azarenka saved set point with a forehand smash and took it to the tiebreaker, where she took a 5-1 lead before clinching it when Hlavackova — who had needed treatment on her left thigh late in the second set — hit long.
Azarenka plays Ana Ivanovic in the third round after the Serbian beat Nadia Petrova 7-5, 6-1 in an earlier match on Tuesday.
In men’s play, Jurgen Melzer rallied to beat Feliciano Lopez 3-6, 7-6 (8/6), 6-4, the first seeded player to exit.
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