Richard Gasquet snapped a title drought stretching back two-and-a-half years as he beat close friend Gilles Simon 6-2, 6-1 in an all-French singles final at the Thailand Open yesterday.
The 67-minute victory came partly because Simon fell victim to a knee problem, a day after playing what he called some of his best tennis to reach the final. He cut a hugely despondent figure afterwards.
Gasquet, 26, last tasted title success on clay in Nice in May 2010 and he had lost three finals since, including Estoril and Toronto this season.
Photo: EPA
“I’m glad to win a title, but it’s tough to do it like this against another French player, a friend of mine,” the winner said. “I have to be pleased to win, but it was a little bit strange. I’ve had some tough matches this week, so this seventh title is a big one for me. I’ve played and lost some finals over the years since my last one, so it’s always good to finally win one. It was a good win for me here, a big comeback week.”
Gasquet, seeded second, said he knew nothing of Simon’s condition until his opponent took treatment trailing a set and 4-1 down.
Simon, the fourth seed, said that he was not sure if he would be fit for Tokyo, which starts today.
“I’ll have to see how I feel and how I practice there. I was playing some of my best tennis in the semi-finals — in the final it ends like this,” said the disappointed 27-year-old, who has split with coach Thierry Tulasne to go it alone for the foreseeable future.
Tulasne was in the stands for a farewell, but he will not travel to the Japanese capital.
“It would have been nice to win this one for him, but it was not to be. I just can’t be optimistic any more, I just have to live with this kind of uncertainty,” said Simon, who has also had back and shoulder problems in recent seasons.
MALAYSIAN OPEN
AFP, KUALA LUMPUR
Argentina’s Juan Monaco clinched his fourth title of the year and kept Julien Benneteau waiting for his first ATP crown when he won the Malaysian Open singles final 7-5, 4-6, 6-3 yesterday.
The match lasted three hours and came a day after Monaco, the second seed and world No. 11, came through a tight semi-final against Japan’s Kei Nishikori.
The win keeps alive Monaco’s hopes of reaching next month’s ATP World Tour Finals as one of the eight top-ranked players.
A sumo star was born in Japan on Sunday when 24-year-old Takerufuji became the first wrestler in 110 years to win a top-division tournament on his debut, triumphing at the 15-day Spring Grand Sumo Tournament in Osaka despite injuring his ankle on the penultimate day. Takerufuji, whose injury had left him in a wheelchair outside the ring, shoved out the higher-ranked Gonoyama at the Edion Arena Osaka to the delight of the crowd, giving him an unassailable record of 13 wins and two losses to claim the Emperor’s Cup. “I did it just through willpower. I didn’t really know what was going
The US’ Ilia Malinin on Saturday produced six scintillating quadruple jumps, including a quadruple Axel, in the men’s free skate to capture his first figure skating world title. The 19-year-old nicknamed the “Quad god,” who is the only skater to land a quadruple Axel in competition, dazzled with an array of breathtakingly executed jumps starting with his quad Axel and including a quadruple Lutz in combination with a triple flip and a quadruple toe loop in combination with a triple toe. He added an unexpected triple-triple combination at the end to earn a world-record 227.79 in the free program for a championship
Shohei Ohtani’s interpreter is being criminally investigated by the IRS, and the attorney for his alleged bookmaker said Thursday that the ex-Los Angeles Dodgers employee placed bets on international soccer — but not baseball. The IRS confirmed Thursday that interpreter Ippei Mizuhara and Mathew Bowyer, the alleged illegal bookmaker, are under criminal investigation through the agency’s Los Angeles Field Office. IRS Criminal Investigation spokesperson Scott Villiard said he could not provide additional details. Mizuhara, 39, was fired by the Dodgers on Wednesday following reports from the Los Angeles Times and ESPN about his alleged ties to an illegal bookmaker and debts well
MLB on Friday announced a formal investigation into the scandal swirling around Shohei Ohtani and his former interpreter amid charges that the Los Angeles Dodgers superstar was the victim of “massive theft.” The Dodgers on Wednesday fired Ippei Mizuhara, Ohtani’s long-time interpreter and close friend, after Ohtani’s representatives alleged that the Japanese two-way star had been the victim of theft, which was reported to involve millions of dollars and link Mizuhara to a suspected illegal bookmaker in California. “Major League Baseball has been gathering information since we learned about the allegations involving Shohei Ohtani and Ippei Mizuhara from the news media,” MLB