Marc Granollers of Spain eased past Marinko Matosevic of Bosnia 6-2, 6-3 in the first round of the Barcelona Open on Monday.
Granollers is to play sixth-seeded Jo-Wilfred Tsonga in the next round, and said he would need to play “his best version to stand a chance” against the Frenchman.
In a late match, Teymuraz Gabashvili of Russia made fewer errors throughout to beat Pablo Carreno Busta of Spain 7-5, 6-4, clinching the win with a powerful forehand passing shot.
Photo: EPA
Gabashvili faces defending champion and top-seeded Kei Nishikori of Japan in the second round.
Eight-time champion Rafael Nadal is to play either Paolo Lorenzi of Italy or countryman Nicolas Almagro today.
Pablo Andujar of Spain and France’s Benoit Paire were among other first-round winners on Monday.
NASTASE TIRIAC
Sixth-seeded Viktor Troicki was knocked out of the Nastase Tiriac Trophy in the first round on Monday, losing 5-7, 6-3, 6-1 to Daniel Gimeno-Traver of Spain on the first day of the tournament.
Gimeno-Traver, who was runner-up in the Grand Prix Hassan II this month, earned his first win over the Serb in four meetings.
Also, Malek Jaziri won 75 percent of his first-service points to defeat Florian Mayer 4-6, 6-4, 7-5 in just over two hours.
Borna Coric of Croatia also advanced by defeating Ukraine’s Sergiy Stakhovsky 6-2, 6-7 (4/7), 7-6 (7/2).
OUT AGAINST INDONESIA: Taiwan reached the semi-finals at the tournament for the first time by defeating Denmark, with Chou Tien-chen beating Viktor Axelsen Taiwan yesterday crashed out of the Thomas Cup team competition in Chengdu, China, but achieved their best result at the top-tier badminton event by reaching the semi-finals. Indonesia were too good in the semis, winning 3-0 to advance to today’s final against China, who eliminated Malaysia 3-1. In the opening singles of the men’s team clash at the Hi-Tech Zone Sports Center Gymnasium 2, Anthony Ginting defeated Taiwan’s Chou Tien-chen 21-18, 21-19 in 51 minutes, which put a huge hole in Taiwan’s aspirations to perhaps even make the final. In the men’s doubles, Fajar Alfian and Muhammad Ardianto downed Lee Yang and Wang
NO DOUBT: Spurs star Wembanyama was unanimously selected as NBA Rookie of the Year, winning all 99 votes to become the first Frenchman to capture the honor The Minnesota Timberwolves on Monday night produced a dominant defensive display to seize a commanding 2-0 lead in their best-of-seven playoff series against the Denver Nuggets with a 106-80 road victory. The third-seeded Timberwolves harassed Denver relentlessly to claim a second straight win over the NBA champions as the series heads back to Minneapolis for Game 3 on Friday. Karl-Anthony Towns and Anthony Edwards scored 27 points apiece, but the star of the show was Minnesota’s suffocating defensive effort, which knocked Denver out of their stride almost from the tip-off. The Timberwolves finished with 11 steals and 12 blocks, in sharp contrast to
Top-ranked Iga Swiatek on Saturday came through “the most intense and crazy final” she has ever contested to avenge her loss to Aryna Sabalenka in last year’s Madrid Open final with a grueling three hour, 11 minute victory in the Spanish capital. Coming back from 1-3 down in the decider and saving three match points in total, Swiatek claimed a 7-5, 4-6, 7-6 (9/7) victory to secure the Madrid Open trophy for the first time. “Well, who is going to say now that women’s tennis is boring, right?” Swiatek said. Swiatek, who picked up the 20th title of her career, and ninth at
One of Malaysia’s top soccer clubs has pulled out of today’s season-opening Charity Shield after a spate of assaults, including an acid attack, on players in the country. It leaves the kickoff of Malaysia’s season this weekend under a cloud following the unprecedented acts of violence against players, which have left the country shocked and angry. Authorities said they have imposed tighter security, but Selangor said that they would not play in the showpiece curtain-raiser against Malaysian Super League champions Johor Darul Ta’zim (JDT) citing “a series of criminal incidents and recent threats.” Selangor and Malaysia winger Faisal Halim is in intensive care