Injury and upsets hit the ATP Auckland Classic yesterday — while Taiwanese hope Lu Yen-hsun was eliminated — with illness forcing out top seed Roberto Bautista-Agut and David Ferrer’s bid for a record fifth title ending with a whimper.
Steve Johnson of the US defeated Lu 6-4, 7-6 (7/4).
The world No. 33 won in 1 hour, 28 minutes, winning 52 of the 100 points contested.
Photo: AFP
Lu posted a Chinese-language report on Facebook that said Johnson won most of the key points and had luck on his side.
Lu said after the game that he had not played badly and he was confident heading to Melbourne for the Australian Open starting on Monday next week, according to the report.
Sixth seed Feliciano Lopez conceded a walkover, while John Isner and Marcos Baghdatis both flirted with disaster against unfancied second-round opponents.
The only seed to display any type of dominance was fourth-seeded Jack Sock, who showed a clean pair of heels dispatching fellow American Ryan Harrison 7-6 (7/5), 4-6, 6-1.
Defending champion Bautista-Agut of Spain was the first to exit, pulling out of the Australian Open warm-up tournament with a stomach bug.
His third-seeded compatriot Ferrer soon followed, shattering his dream of adding to the record of four Auckland titles he shares with Australian Rod Emerson.
Ferrer slumped to a loss after his trademark consistency deserted him against Dutchman Robin Haase.
“At first I was a little bit off ... then suddenly in the second set I was more relaxed, and started to hit the ball a bit more comfortably and serve really well,” the Dutchman said.
Sixth-seeded Spaniard Feliciano Lopez conceded a walkover after suffering back spasms during his warm-up.
Second seed Isner survived match point in a third-set tiebreak before overcoming Tunisia’s Malek Jaziri 6-3, 3-6, 7-6 (8/6), while eighth seed Marcos Baghdatis of Cyprus struggled against German wild-card Dustin Brown, coming from behind for a 4-6, 7-6 (7/4), 6-4 victory.
Additional reporting by staff writer
APIA International
AFP, SYDNEY
Gilles Muller beat the heat to be one match away from a third straight semi-final appearance at the Apia International in Sydney following a big-serving victory over Australian Matt Barton yesterday.
The sixth seed from Luxembourg prevailed over Barton 6-1, 3-6, 6-4 as temperatures nudged 42oC to reach the quarter-finals.
Muller faces Uruguayan second seed Pablo Cuevas, who overcame Frenchman Nicolas Mahut 6-4, 2-6, 6-2.
German fifth seed Philipp Kohlschreiber knocked out Australian Jordan Thompson 7-5, 6-4 and faces two-time defending champion Viktor Troicki, who defeated Paolo Lorenzi 6-3, 6-4.
In the women’s singles, Eugenie Bouchard reached her first semi-final for 10 months as she battled intense heat to down higher-ranked Russian Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova.
The former Wimbledon finalist wore down the 27th-ranked Pavlyuchenkova 6-2, 6-3 in 76 minutes to book a semi with Britain’s world No. 10 Johanna Konta.
Former world No. 1 Caroline Wozniacki went down in a punishing 3 hour, 20 minute battle with Barbora Strycova 7-5, 6-7 (6/8), 6-4.
Bangkok Open
Staff writer
Chen Ti and Yi Chu-huan advanced to the second round of the men’s doubles at the Bangkok Open yesterday.
The Taiwanese pair defeated Belgian Germain Gigounon and Axel Michon of France 5-7, 6-2, 10-7 in 1 hour, 17 minutes.
They face Italian Alessandro Bega and Yannick Mertens of Belgium in the second round of the Challenger event.
The pressure was already on Real Madrid coach Xabi Alonso before their 2-1 defeat to Manchester City on Wednesday in the UEFA Champions League raised further questions about his future. Arsenal remain perfect in this season’s competition and three points clear at the top of the standings after a 3-0 win against Club Brugge, while defending champions Paris Saint-Germain were held 0-0 at Athletic Bilbao. The clash between Madrid and City was the standout game of the round amid reports this week that Alonso had lost control of the locker room. Speculation over his position is likely to intensify after the latest
The Olympic flame for the Milan Cortina Winter Games landed in Rome on Thursday following a handover in Greece. The flame was carried in a small lantern aboard an ITA Airways flight between the Greek and Italian capitals. Tennis player Jasmine Paolini — an Olympic gold medalist — and local organizing committee president Giovanni Malago carried the flame off the plane. “I feel honored. It’s an incredible emotion,” Paolini said in brief remarks before the lantern was driven away toward the presidential palace. A 63-day torch relay covering 12,000km is to start in Rome today and wind its way through all 110 Italian provinces
The Kashima Antlers won a record-extending ninth Japanese title on the final day of the J. League season yesterday, holding their nerve to beat the Yokohama F. Marinos 2-1. Watched by Brazilian legend and former player Zico, the Antlers went into the game at their packed home stadium with a one-point lead over Kashiwa Reysol in the table. A goal in either half from Brazilian striker Leo Ceara put the Antlers in control, but Yokohama struck in the first of five minutes of second-half injury time to set up a nail-biting finale, with Reysol winning their game 1-0. The Antlers saw out the
‘HIGH STANDARD’: The Thunder are on track for a Finals-Cup double after they scored 22 three-pointers in equaling the best 25-game start to a season in NBA history The Oklahoma City Thunder on Wednesday bagged a 16th straight victory, thrashing the Phoenix Suns 138-89 to romp into an NBA Cup semi-final clash with the San Antonio Spurs, who stunned the Los Angeles Lakers 132-119. NBA Most Valuable Player Shai Gilgeous-Alexander scored 28 points to lead the reigning NBA champions Thunder, who improved to 24-1 to equal the best 25-game start to a season in league history. They dominated from start to finish to book their place in the final four of the in-season tournament in Las Vegas, where they are tomorrow to take on the Spurs. The New York Knicks and
RSS