Unfancied US player Mardy Fish advanced to the quarter-finals of the Heineken Open yesterday with a surprise win over Croatian second seed Mario Ancic.
World number nine Ancic was below his best, going down 6-4, 6-4 to Fish, ranked 36 places below his opponent.
"It has been a while since I've beaten someone in the top 10," the delighted Fish said later.
"I lost a lot 7-5 and 7-6 in the third and fourth sets against top 20 players without getting over the hump. This wasn't such a close one but it definitely felt like it," he added.
Ancic's booming serve was broken three times by Fish and last year's beaten finalist could only grab back one service break against his opponent.
"I wasn't serving that well and I'm still not feeling that confident on the court with moving and hitting," Ancic said.
He also praised the greater consistency of his opponent.
"I think he was serving well, returning very well and he didn't give me any chances to come back."
Top seed Tommy Robredo of Spain easily disposed of countryman Alberto Martin 6-4, 6-2 and third seed David Ferrer, also of Spain, thrashed Italian Daniele Bracciali 6-0, 6-1.
Kristof Vliegen of Belgium sneaked home 7-6, 2-6, 7-5 over Spain's Nicolas Almagro and seventh seed Agustin Calleri of Argentina beat Florent Serra of France 6-4, 6-1.
Juan Ignacio Chela of Argentina beat Nicolas Massu of Chile 7-5, 4-6, 6-3.
College basketballer Kaitlyn Chen has become the first female player of Taiwanese descent to be drafted by a WNBA team, after the Golden State Valkyries selected her in the third and final round of the league’s draft on Monday. Chen, a point guard who played her first three seasons in college for Princeton University, transferred to the University of Connecticut (UConn) for her final season, which culminated in a national championship earlier this month. While at Princeton, Chen was named the Ivy League tournament’s most outstanding player three times from 2022 to last year. Prior to the draft, ESPN described Chen as
College basketballer Kaitlyn Chen (陳凱玲) has become the first player of Taiwanese descent to be drafted by a WNBA team, after being selected by the Golden State Valkyries in the third and final round of the league's draft yesterday. Chen, a point guard who played her first three seasons in college for Princeton University, transferred to the University of Connecticut (UConn) for her final season, which culminated in a national championship on April 6. While at Princeton, Chen was named the Ivy League tournament's most outstanding player three times from 2022 to last year. Prior to the draft, ESPN described Chen as a
Japan yesterday secured a second consecutive Billie Jean King Cup finals appearance with a 2-1 win over 2023 champions Canada, thanks to Ena Shibahara and Shuko Aoyama’s 6-3, 5-7, 6-2 win over Kayla Cross and Rebecca Marino in the qualifying doubles decider. Shibahara and Aoyama powered through the opening set 6-3, breaking twice for a quick 3-0 lead. Cross and Marino hit back in the second, edging it 7-5 to level the match, before the Japanese pair regained control in the third. Canada’s 18-year-old Victoria Mboko edged Shibahara 6-4, 6-7 (8/10), 7-5 in a marathon opening clash. Mboko fired eight aces to
DAY OF BLOWOUTS: Elsewhere, the Lakers clinched the third seed in the Western Conference with a 140-109 pounding of the under-strength Houston Rockets The Denver Nuggets on Friday improved their playoff position, with a triple double from Nikola Jokic helping them to a 117-109 win over the Memphis Grizzlies. The Serbian put up 26 points, 13 assists and 16 rebounds. The triple-double performance, his 34th this season, ensured that he will finish the regular season as just the third NBA player to average a triple double across an entire season. The win meant the Nuggets improved to 49-32 on the season and gave them a real chance of grabbing fourth place and home-court advantage in the playoffs. Aaron Gordon top scored with 33 points for Denver,
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