The biggest excitement in Rafael Nadal's latest French Open victory came when he took off his shoe.
The defending champion caused a stir when he asked for a trainer during a changeover, but Nadal merely was bothered by the tape on his right foot and he went on to beat Kevin Kim of the United States 6-2, 6-1, 6-4 on Friday.
Top-ranked Roger Federer won in the final match of the day, beating No. 32-seeded Nicolas Massu of Chile 6-1, 6-2, 6-7 (4), 7-5.
PHOTO: EPA
Nadal moved into the third round with his 55th consecutive win on clay, extending his Open era record. Among those impressed was Kim, ranked 97th.
"It felt like you're in the Sahara and you just see the hills and there's no ending," Kim said. "I was just running a lot to grab whatever points I can get."
Their match was one of 10 postponed or suspended on Thursday when rain backed up the schedule. Sunshine returned on Friday, and temperatures climbed into the mid-70s for the first time since the tournament began.
PHOTO: EPA
The better weather seemed to suit No. 8-seeded James Blake, who rallied past clay-court specialist Nicolas Almagro of Spain 6-7 (5), 6-2, 6-4, 6-4. Blake is the lone American left in the men's draw.
"As long as we have one, that's a good sign," he said. "It's an interesting role."
Blake trailed when the match was suspended after one set on Thursday night, and overcame a 4-1 deficit in the third set to take the lead. He's the first American man to reach the third round since 2003.
"I definitely feel so much more comfortable on the surface now," Blake said. "I'm not going into the clay-court part of the year with dread. It's exciting at 26 years old to be getting better."
No. 11 Venus Williams advanced to the fourth round by beating Karolina Sprem 7-5, 6-3. Sprem upset Williams two years ago in the second round at Wimbledon.
Williams will next play No. 7 Patty Schnyder, who rallied past Julia Vakulenko 2-6, 7-5, 6-0.
Martina Hingis and Kim Clijsters won easily after their second-round matches were delayed a day. No. 4 Maria Sharapova reached the fourth round by beating Alicia Molik of Australia 6-0, 7-5.
Top-ranked Amelie Mauresmo, bidding for her second successive Grand Slam title, defeated Jelena Jankovic of Serbia-Montenegro 6-3, 6-3.
"It's getting better and better with the blue sky, the sun and a game that improves with every round," Mauresmo said. She next plays 17-year-old Czech Nicole Vaidisova, who beat French qualifier Aravane Rezai 6-1, 6-7 (6), 6-0.
In a center-court showdown between former champions, No. 10 Gaston Gaudio beat No. 24 Juan Carlos Ferrero 7-5, 7-5, 7-6 (7). Gaudio had lost five consecutive matches against Ferrero on clay.
"I haven't been playing at this level in a long time," said Gaudio, the 2004 champion. "Let's see if step by step I can start thinking bigger.''
Gaudio next plays No. 6 Nikolay Davydenko, who beat 1998 champion Carlos Moya 6-1, 7-5, 6-3. Gaudio's Argentine countryman, No. 3 David Nalbandian, rallied to defeat No. 31 Dmitry Tursunov of Russia 6-4 in the fifth, and No. 7 Tommy Robredo eliminated Lukas Dlouhy of the Czech Republic in straight sets.
Nadal advanced unimpeded after calling for a trainer trailing 2-1 in the third set. The Spaniard was sidelined for three months in 2004 by an injury to his left ankle.
"This is not the bad foot," Nadal said, adding that he merely wanted help with the tape.
When he closed out the win seven games later, he walked to the net with a smile, then hopped into a celebratory uppercut. In the first round he broke the Open-era record he shared with Guillermo Vilas for the longest clay-court winning streak, and he's now 9-0 at Roland Garros.
Taiwan’s men’s basketball team yesterday drained 17 three-pointers in a 91-69 rout of Qatar, advancing to the quarter-finals of the Asian Games in Japan. The lopsided victory was largely powered by the team’s precision long-range shooting. Of the 17 three-pointers, seven came in the opening quarter, giving Taiwan an early 26-12 lead. Boosted by 40 percent shooting from long range, Taiwan also held an edge over Qatar in assists (26-13), committed fewer turnovers (6-14) and steals (9-3). Taiwan shooting guard Lin Ting-chien scored a game-high 21 points, including five three-pointers. Naturalized center Brandon Gilbeck added 12 points, nine rebounds and two steals. With a 2-1
Yu Zidi made history last year aged 12 when she became the youngest-ever medalist at the swimming world championships. Now a teenager, she headlines China’s bid for Asian Games domination and has Olympic glory in her sights. The 13-year-old school girl with a pixie hair cut stunned the sporting world last year with a series of eye-popping times. At the last year’s World Aquatics Championships in Singapore she helped China reach the 4x200m women’s freestyle relay final. She did not swim in the final, but China came third, earning Yu a historic bronze for swimming in the heats. Yu just missed out on
The Hyrox athletics franchise has apologized for allowing an athlete to complete an event in Beijing despite soiling herself midway through, causing an outcry on social media. Posts showed Australian athlete Joanna Wietrzyk with soiled legs and shoes, continuing to use the mats and equipment at the competition held on Saturday in the Chinese capital. She completed the event without the organizing committee intervening, and went on to win the competition, according to the Hyrox Web site. Users pointed out on social media that other participants had to touch the contaminated mats, handles and running tracks after she had used them, raising concerns
Taiwan’s Chen Zhi-ray and Lin Yu-chieh yesterday won the men's doubles final at the Yonex-Sunrise Vietnam Open badminton tournament, quickly dispatching their Singaporean opponents in straight games. Chen and Lin defeated Singapore's Terry Hee and Howin Wong 21-14, 21-12 in 27 minutes at the Badminton World Federation Super 100 event held at the Nguyen Du Club in Ho Chi Minh City. It was the first time the duo had won a BWF Tour event since they paired up in 2024. Previously, 24-year-old Chen and 26-year-old Lin had claimed top spots in three lower-level tourneys, before notching a breakthrough second-place finish at the
RSS