Canada ended the first day of their Davis Cup semi-final with Serbia level on 1-1 as Janko Tipsarevic failed to follow up Novak Djokovic’s opening win. In the first rubber, it took only 100 minutes for world No. 1 Djokovic to compellingly and confidently rout 41st-ranked Canadian Vasek Pospisil, giving Serbia an early lead.
Djokovic, who arrived in Belgrade on Wednesday after losing to Spain’s Rafael Nadal in the third of four consecutive bids to win the US Open final, only allowed Pospisil a total of six games, winning 6-2, 6-0, 6-4.
“Playing for my country additionally inspires me and gives me an extra strength. I played extremely good and I am very happy to have brought a lead to Serbia,” Djokovic told reporters after the match.
However, in the following rubber, Montenegro-born Canadian Milos Raonic, the world No. 11, defeated the 23rd-ranked Janko Tipsarevic in a dramatic five-set match 5-7, 6-3, 3-6, 6-3, 10-8.
This was Tipsarevic’s ninth singles five-setter while playing for Serbia in the Davis Cup.
Tipsarevic twice took a lead in the four-hour match, but Raonic tied both times and in the exciting fifth set the two were level until 4-4. Having won his fifth game, Tipsarevic managed to gain a match point on Raonic’s serve, but failed to capitalize and eventually lost the match.
The tie is being played on an indoor clay court before a sell-out crowd of 15,000 at Belgrade Arena. The winner will advance to November’s final against either Argentina or the Czech Republic.
Bayer 04 Leverkusen go into today’s match at TSG 1899 Hoffenheim stung from their first league defeat in 16 months. Leverkusen were beaten 3-2 at home by RB Leipzig before the international break, the first loss since May last year for the reigning league and cup champions. While any defeat, particularly against a likely title rival, would have disappointed coach Xabi Alonso, the way in which it happened would be most concerning. Just as they did in the Supercup against VfB Stuttgart and in the league opener to Borussia Moenchengladbach, Leverkusen scored first, but were pegged back. However, while Leverkusen rallied late to
The lights dimmed and the crowd hushed as Karoline Kristensen entered for her performance. However, this was no ordinary Dutch theater: The temperature was 80°C and the audience naked apart from a towel. Dressed in a swimsuit and to the tune of emotional music, the 21-year-old Kristensen started her routine, performed inside a large sauna, with a bed of hot rocks in the middle. For a week this month, a group of wellness practitioners, called “sauna masters,” are gathering at a picturesque health resort in the Netherlands to compete in this year’s Aufguss world sauna championships. The practice takes its name from a
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Taiwan yesterday survived Bosnia and Herzegovina to win their Davis Cup World Group I tie at the Taipei Tennis Center. The tight series started on Saturday with world No. 123 Jason Tseng losing 3-6, 7-5, 6-4 to Mirza Basic in the opening singles matchup. However, teammate Tony Wu kept the tie even, dominating world No. 86 Damir Dzumhur 6-2, 6-1. Yesterday, 24-year-old Ray Ho and partner 25-year-old Hsu Yu-hsiou kept up the momentum, making short work of Basic and Nerman Fatic, winning 6-3, 6-4. Tseng then suffered another defeat, losing 6-4, 2-6, 6-2 to Dzumhur in a brutal match that lasted more than two