Taiwan’s Lu Yen-hsun put up a fight, but was eventually ousted 6-7 (4/7), 6-4, 6-4 by world No. 5 Tomas Berdych of the Czech Republic in the second round of the Rogers Cup in Toronto on Wednesday.
Lu saved four of seven break-point chances, but only converted one of three as the fourth seed grabbed a hard-fought victory in 2 hours, 18 minutes.
Berdych went into the match on the back of having the honor of opening the Toronto Stock Exchange on Tuesday morning,
“It’s something different,” Berdych told the ATP Web site. “It’s a big moment. Obviously, it’s something special and interesting. So I really like to be a part of that and enjoy a new experience.”
“The routine is very nice. I didn’t expect that, but it’s really nice to have the ritual like that of opening the stock market and I just hope and wish all the best, and hope things go well,” he said.
Also on Wednesday, Wimbledon champions Novak Djokovic and Andy Murray warmed up their hardcourt games on Wednesday with victories in their opening matches.
World No. 1 Djokovic, who beat Roger Federer in five sets in last month’s Wimbledon final, needed almost two-and-three-quarter hours to extend his winning run to 10 matches as he beat Frenchman Gael Monfils, with the top seed reaching the third round after a 6-2, 6-7 (4/7), 7-6 (7/2) victory.
Britain’s 2013 Wimbledon winner Murray made light of an absence from the ATP Tour of more than a month to defeat promising Aussie teenager Nick Kyrgios 6-2, 6-2 in less than an hour.
Djokovic, married last month, was playing for the first time since his All England Club triumph.
“I tried to take the positives from this long match, obviously the fact that I stayed over two-and-a-half hours on the court and I have not played an official hard court match since Miami finals [in March],” Djokovic said. “That obviously helps to play a little bit more, to feel the court, to feel the conditions. I’m not feeling tired. I’m not exhausted. I haven’t played a tournament for four weeks. I of course look forward to compete more.”
The Serb did have to struggle with the flashy Monfils, who put the Serbian under pressure with a break in the third set for a 3-1 lead.
The top seed got the break back a game later, but showed his frustration as Monfils won a nine-minute 11th game, saving three break points to hold for 6-5.
Monfils was two points from completing the upset at 6-5 30-30, but Djokovic held on to force the tiebreaker in which he seized a 5-2 lead and converted on his first match point with a forehand winner.
He goes through to a meeting with French 13th seed Jo-Wilfried Tsonga, who beat countryman Jeremy Chardy 7-6 (8/6), 6-4.
“I showed good stuff today, I think I was happy,” Monfils said. “This can just motivate me to work harder. Next time I will try to maybe be a bit further [along] and maybe beat him.”
Djokovic is bidding to become the third player, after Federer and Nadal, to win at least 20 Masters 1000 titles. He has claimed five of the past six he has contested.
Murray, the eighth seed who won the Canadian title in 2009 and 2010, had been seen as a potential scalp for the dangerous Kyrgios since losing to Bulgarian Grigor Dimitrov in the Wimbledon quarter-finals.
In the interim, the disappointed 27-year-old Scot left for his training base in Miami to try and rediscover his best form, which had eluded him since back surgery in September.
He also signed former top French WTA player Amelie Mauresmo to a long-term coaching contract after an experimental period through the grasscourt season.
“I was just lacking a little bit,” Murray said. “But after Wimbledon, I went over to Miami and I really trained like I used to for the first time since the surgery and I felt much better.”
Murray showed that his work was starting to pay off, as he hammered Kyrgios, who upset Rafael Nadal in the fourth round at Wimbledon.
Eighth seed Murray, who has not won a title in the 13 months since lifting the Wimbledon trophy, is to next face 12th seed Richard Gasquet, a winner over Ivo Karlovic 5-7, 7-6 (7/5), 6-3.
Another Frenchman, Julien Benneteau, moved into the third-round as he defeated 11th seed Ernests Gulbis 7-6 (7/4), 6-3. Spanish fifth seed David Ferrer beat Michael Russell 6-4, 2-6, 6-1
Sixth seed Milos Raonic fulfilled home hopes with his defeat of American Jack Sock 4-6, 7-6 (7/2), 7-6 (7/4), which took almost two and a half hours and ended with 16 aces for the winner. No. 7 Grigor Dimitrov stopped Donald Young 4-6, 6-2, 6-3.
The 15th seed Marin Cilic came back to eliminate Tunisian Malek Jaziri 4-6, 6-0, 7-6 (7/4), while South Africa’s Kevin Anderson beat Italian 16th seed Fabio Fognini 7-5, 6-2.
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