Top-seeded John Isner got past feisty Jesse Levine 7-6 (7/3), 5-7, 6-4 to advance to the second round of the Delray Beach International Tennis Championships on Tuesday.
In the second set, Isner fell behind 0-15 in the eighth and 10th games, then reeled off four straight aces in both games to hold on to his serve. However, Levine won the final two games of the second set to force a decisive third set.
Levine lost serve in the first game of the third set to set Isner up for the win.
Photo: AFP
“It was a long one and good one to get through,” said the 15th-ranked Isner, who had 28 aces in the match. “I anticipate I’ll get better going forward, but a win’s a win and I haven’t had many recently, and I’m just trying to get this train going.”
Second-seeded Tommy Haas of Germany advanced to the second round when Igor Sijsling of the Netherlands retired from their match on Tuesday with an injured left ankle.
Later, fourth-seeded Kei Nishikori of Japan became the third player to retire from a first-round match, when he pulled out in the first set against 150th-ranked Ivo Karlovic of Croatia because of an injured muscle in his side.
Photo: Reuters
On a breezy day with occasional light rain, the two split the first two sets. Sijsling won the first 7-5 and Haas took the second at 6-4, before the Dutchman called it quits.
The 74th-ranked Sijsling hit a return in the ninth game and crumbled to the floor with the injury. After the trainer came to the court, Sijsling went back out. Haas held on to his serve and then Sijsling was serving at 4-5 in the second set.
Frustrated at going behind 0-30, Sijsling belted three balls into the stands, hitting a spectator with one of the balls. He received a code violation warning, lost his serve, which evened the score at one set apiece, and retired from the match.
“What a strange match,” Haas said. “At 4-all, first point, I saw him falling to the ground. Sometimes you don’t know how to react when someone is injured, but he looked like he was in pain. The first couple of points went my way and he started to smash balls out of the stadium and hit a spectator. You never want to win a match like that. It’s not a proud win for me.”
Haas will next face Denis Istomin of Uzbekistan. Istomin defeated Benjamin Becker of Germany 6-7 (3/7), 6-4, 7-5.
Nishikori, who won last week’s Memphis title, was about to serve with Karlovic leading 5-4 in the first set when Japan’s best player abandoned the match. Earlier in the set, Nishikori called for the trainer to come out and work on his back.
Taiwan’s Lu Yen-hsun beat Bobby Reynolds of the US 6-3, 7-5
Qualifier Ernests Gulbis of Latvia, who won first ATP tour title at Delray in 2010, beat American veteran James Blake 6-1, 6-4.
Ryan Harrison lost to qualifier Daniel Munoz-De La Nava of Spain 6-2, 1-6, 6-3, squandering a 3-1 lead in the final set. Jack Sock, a wildcard into the main draw, beat Mathew Ebden of Australia 6-3, 6-3.
Seventh-seeded Feliciano Lopez of Spain, who lost to Nishikori in the Memphis final, withdrew from the tournament with a left wrist injury.
On Monday night, Michael Russell retired in the second set of his match against fellow American and third-seeded Sam Querrey.
MEXICO OPEN
AFP, ACAPULCO, Mexico
Former world No. 1 Rafael Nadal began his quest for a 38th clay-court title, dominating Diego Sebastian Schwartzman 6-2, 6-2 in his opening-round match at the ATP Tour’s Acapulco event on Tuesday.
Nadal, who recently returned to the court after a seven-month injury layoff, needed just 68 minutes to oust Schwartzman, who at 20 was the youngest player in the men’s draw.
The 11-time Grand Slam champion Nadal advances to the second round, where he is to face his second consecutive Argentinean qualifier, 27-year-old Martin Alund.
Nadal improved to 34-1 on clay against players ranked outside the top 100 as he makes his first appearance in Acapulco since claiming the title eight years ago. Schwartzman is ranked 157th in the world.
Nadal was off for seven months with persistent knee problems and has been testing his fitness in clay tournaments this month before he switches to hardcourt events.
He won his 37th clay-court title earlier this month in Sao Paulo, Brazil, beating David Nalbandian in the final.
On Tuesday, a Spanish newspaper reported that world No. 5 Nadal would miss the upcoming ATP World Tour Masters Series events in Indian Wells, California, and Miami, Florida.
Nadal’s camp and tournament organizers dismissed the report.
Shohei Ohtani and his wife arrived in South Korea with his Los Angeles Dodgers teammates yesterday ahead of their season-opening games with the San Diego Padres next week. Ohtani, wearing a black training suit and a cap backwards, was the first Dodgers player who showed up at the arrival gate of Incheon International Airport, west of Seoul. His wife, Mamiko Tanaka, walked several steps behind him. As a crowd of fans, many wearing Dodgers jerseys, shouted his name and cheered slogans, Ohtani briefly waved his hand, but did not say anything before he entered a limousine bus with his wife. Fans held placards
Taiwan’s Tai Tzu-ying yesterday advanced to the quarter-finals at the All England Open, beating Kim Ga-eun of South Korea 21-17, 21-15. With the win, Tai earned a semi-final against China’s He Bingjiao, who beat Michelle Li of Canada 21-9, 21-9. Defending champion An Se-young defeated India’s P.V. Sindhu 21-19, 21-11. An on Wednesday cruised into the second round, unlike last year’s men’s winner, Li Shifeng, who suffered a shock defeat. South Korea’s An, the world No. 1, overcame Taiwan’s Hsu Wen-chi 21-17, 21-16 to set up the match against Sindhu. In other women’s singles matches, Taiwan’s Sung Shuo-yun lost 21-18, 24-22 against Carolina Marin of
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DOUBLES PAYBACK: Hsieh Su-wei and Elise Martens avenged their defeat in the quarters at the Qatar TotalEnergies Open against Demi Schuurs and Luisa Stefani Taiwan’s Hsieh Su-wei on Wednesday advanced to the semi-finals of the women’s doubles at the BNP Paribas Open in Indian Wells, California. Hsieh and partner Elise Mertens of Belgium dispatched Demi Schuurs and Luisa Stefani 6-1, 6-4 to set up a clash against Nicole Melichar-Martinez of the US and Australia’s Ellen Perez for a spot in the final of the WTA 1000 tournament. Hsieh and Martens made a blistering start to their rematch after they lost to Schuurs and Stefani in the quarter-finals at the Qatar TotalEnergies Open last month, winning three games without reply at the start of the first set