Second seed Ivo Karlovic of Croatia served 23 aces as he overpowered Germany’s Dustin Brown 7-6 (7/3), 6-3 in the quarter-finals of the Hall of Fame Tennis Championship in Newport, Rhode Island, on Friday.
Karlovic, who broke Brown in the first game of the second set before sealing victory in just over an hour, faces fourth-seeded American Jack Sock in the semi-finals.
Sock advanced when Czech Jan Hernych retired from their quarter-final after he sustained a knee injury during the second game of the match.
Photo: AP
“When a guy hits 23 aces and doesn’t let you see any second serves, it’s going to be impossible to break him,” Brown, an unorthodox player known for his touch and outrageous drop shots, told reporters after losing to the 24th-ranked Karlovic.
“You expect this going into the match, but it’s still very tough to lose a match like this,” Brown added.
The other semi-final was to be contested by American Rajeev Ram and Australia’s John-Patrick Smith, who both won their matches in the last eight on Thursday.
Bucharest Open
Friday’s results in the Bucharest Open at B.N.R. Arenas saw Sara Errani of Italy defeat Anna Tatishvili of the US 6-2, 6-3; Romania’s Monica Niculescu beat compatriot Andreea Mitu 4-6, 6-0, 6-2; Anna Karolina Schmiedlova of Slovakia down Danka Kovinic of Montenegro 6-2, 6-2; and Slovenia’s Polona Hercog eliminate Aleksandra Krunic of Serbia 6-3, 6-3.
SWEDISH OPEN
Results on Friday from the Collector Swedish Open Women at the Bastad Tennis Stadium saw Johanna Larsson of Sweden defeat Barbora Strycova of the Czech Republic, 6-2, 6-3; Germany’s Mona Barthel beat Rebecca Peterson of Sweden 6-1, 7-6 (7/3); Spain’s Lara Arruabarrena down Jana Cepelova of Slovakia, who was forced to retire at 6-3, 5-2; and Yulia Putintseva of Kazakhstan oust Klara Koukalova of the Czech Republic 6-3, 6-4.
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
If all goes well when the biggest marathon field ever gathered in Australia races 42km through the streets of Sydney on Sunday, World Marathon Majors (WMM) will soon add a seventh race to the elite series. The Sydney Marathon is to become the first race since Tokyo in 2013 to join long-established majors in New York, London, Boston, Berlin and Chicago if it passes the WMM assessment criteria for the second straight year. “We’re really excited for Sunday to arrive,” race director Wayne Larden told a news conference in Sydney yesterday. “We’re prepared, we’re ready. All of our plans look good on
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
When details from a scientific experiment that could have helped clear Russian figure skater Kamila Valieva landed at the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA), the leader of the organization’s reaction was unequivocal: “We have to stop that urgently,” he wrote. No mention of the test ever became public and Valieva’s defense at the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) went on without it. What effect the information could have had on Valieva’s case is unclear, but without it, the skater, then 15 years old, was eventually disqualified from the 2022 Winter Olympics after testing positive for a banned heart medication that would later