Thomaz Bellucci of Brazil advanced to the Geneva Open final on Friday and was to play Joao Sousa of Portugal for the title.
Bellucci, twice a champion at Switzerland’s other clay-court event in Gstaad, eased past Santiago Giraldo of Colombia 6-3, 6-4.
The 60th-ranked Bellucci said: “This is my favorite place to play. Maybe I feel very relaxed here.”
Photo: EPA
The sixth-seeded Sousa beat Federico Delbonis of Argentina 6-3, 2-6, 6-4 in the other semi-final.
Though Sousa again won a third-set decider, it was less dramatic than his quarter-final win over Spain’s Pablo Andujar when he saved four straight match points in a tiebreaker.
OPEN DE NICE
Dominic Thiem hit 11 aces on Friday to upset second-seeded John Isner and set up a final against Leonardo Mayer at the Open de Nice.
The big-serving Isner also had 11 aces and saved seven of eight break points in the first set, but lost the first three games of the second set to slump to a 7-6 (7/5), 6-3 loss at the clay-court tournament.
The 42nd-ranked Thiem, who is chasing his maiden ATP tour title, said: “You don’t play a final every week, so I am really happy, but if I lose tomorrow [yesterday], I won’t win the tournament. I will do everything I can to win my first title.”
The fourth-seeded Mayer defeated Borna Coric 6-4, 6-3 in the other semi-final after fending off 11 break points.
Strasbourg
Third-seeded Samantha Stosur advanced to her first final this season with a 6-3, 3-6, 6-0 win over Sloane Stephens at the Internationaux de Strasbourg.
Stosur, a former French Open finalist, is hitting form at the right time, with the clay-court Grand Slam tournament to start today at Roland Garros.
Stosur was to face Kristina Mladenovic, who won an all-French semi-final when Virginie Razzano retired with an abdominal injury while trailing 6-3, 1-2.
NUREMBERG
At the Nurnberger Versicherungscup, Roberta Vinci of Italy defeated Germany’s Angelique Kerber in a walkover, while Italian Karin Knapp beat Lara Arruabarrena of Spain 6-0, 6-2 to also make the final.
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
Japanese players are moving to English soccer in record numbers and more look set to follow with clubs attracted by their quality, strong work ethic and value for money. Kaoru Mitoma is the standout talent of five Japanese players in the English Premier League, with eight more in the Championship and two in League One. Liverpool midfielder Wataru Endo, the captain of Japan, believes his compatriots are “being held in higher esteem” by English clubs compared with the past. “The staff at Liverpool ask me about lots of Japanese players, not necessarily with a view to a transfer, but just saying this or
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