Taiwanese No. 1 Lu Yen-hsun lost a tight quarter-final against Alexandr Dolgopolov at the Aegon Open in Nottingham, England, on Thursday, but will travel to Wimbledon in good spirits after a good showing on the grass courts at the Nottingham Tennis Centre this week.
World No. 61 Lu fell to a 6-4, 4-6, 7-6 (7/4) defeat to the Ukrainian world No. 75, against whom he now has a 0-3 career record.
Lu saved eight of 11 break points and converted three of seven, but it was not enough as Dolgopolov edged the tight contest in 2 hours, 9 minutes, winning 112 of the 217 points contested.
The Ukranian recovered from 4-1 down in the first set by winning five straight games and the match turned into a late-night marathon when Lu broke serve when 5-4 up in the second to force a decider.
Dolgopolov got over the line in the third-set tiebreak when a Lu backhand drifted long.
Dolgopolov was due to take on Sam Querrey of the US in the semi-finals yesterday after the American saved two match points on his way to ousting second seed Gilles Simon of France 7-5, 6-7 (8/10), 6-4.
“The first set was a little slow. I was serving well, which kept me in it. It wasn’t until the middle of the second set that I started feeling good and got my confidence,” Querrey told the tournament Web site.
“There’s no better way to go into a major than winning a tournament the week before. It would be a great confidence booster,” he said.
Looking ahead to yesterday’s semi-final, the American said: “Dolgopolov has a strange game, he’s an awkward guy to play with the way he serves and hacks the slice around, he goes for the return.”
In yesterday’s other semi-final, Marcos Baghdatis was due to take on Denis Istomin.
A break of serve in each set was enough for world No. 59 Baghdatis to progress 6-4, 6-4 against Simone Bolelli of Italy in his bid to win a fifth ATP Tour title.
“To win any tournament this year would mean a lot to me. Every match that I play and win is a small victory towards a bigger victory. Better things will come in the future,” the Cypriot told the tournament Web site.
Uzbekistan’s Istomin knocked out fourth seed Leonardo Mayer of Argentina 6-3, 6-7 (8/10), 7-6 (10/8).
Looking forward to his semi-final, Istomin said: “He’s [Baghdatis] a great player, we’ve played a couple of times.”
“He returns well, so it will be more difficult for me to serve, but I’ll try to do my best and fight for each ball,” he said.
Backup quarterback Luke Weaver on Wednesday night threw a 22-yard touchdown pass to Nick Cenacle with 10 seconds left, as the University of Hawaii rallied for a 35-31 comeback victory over the University of California, Berkeley in a thrilling Hawaii Bowl. Weaver entered the game after Micah Alejado took a hard hit on the previous play. With the Rainbow Warriors (9-4) in range for a tying field goal, coach Timmy Chang took a shot at the end zone, and Cenacle got between two defensive backs and made the contested catch. “How amazing is that?” Chang said. “It’s a program that is built
Hosts Morocco on Friday were held to a 1-1 draw by Mali at the Africa Cup of Nations, ending their world record run of wins and leaving them still to make sure of progress to the next stage. Midfielder Brahim Diaz tucked away a penalty in stoppage-time at the end of the first half, but Mali equalized from the spot midway through the second half through Lassine Sinayoko. Both penalties were awarded after video reviews in a tempestuous clash at the end of a busy day of action at the tournament. Morocco were atop the Group A standings with four points, while Zambia,
STILL IN THE HUNT: Rasmus Hojlund took his goal tally for SSC Napoli to nine as the champions cruised to a win at US Cremonese and stayed two points behind the leaders Inter on Sunday stayed at the Serie A summit after beating Atalanta BC 1-0 to maintain their slender lead over local rivals AC Milan. Lautaro Martinez netted the only goal of the game in Bergamo for Inter, who lead Milan, 3-0 winners against Hellas Verona thanks to Christoper Nkunku’s first Serie A goals, by a single point at the top of the division. The Argentina striker has scored in four consecutive league matches to end what has been a tricky year in positive style. “I ended last season in a lot of pain... I kept going during the Club World Cup and international
An astounding 20 wickets fell on a frantic first day of the fourth Ashes Test yesterday, with Australia all out for 152 before storming back to dismiss England for 110 and leave the clash on a knife-edge. England skipper Ben Stokes won a key toss on a green track and his quicks feasted after sending in the hosts under overcast skies in front of 94,199 fans at the Melbourne Cricket Ground. It was the biggest cricket crowd ever at the cavernous arena, exceeding the 93,013 who watched the 2015 World Cup final, and they witnessed the home side collapse with Josh Tongue
RSS