Luis Horna upset defending champion Tommy Robredo 6-1, 1-6, 6-1 on Monday in the first round of the Swedish Open.
Robredo was the top-seeded player at the tournament.
Fourth-seeded Carlos Moya defeated Ivan Navarro Pastor 6-2, 6-4 in an all-Spanish matchup, while Nicolas Massu of Chile rallied to beat Evgeny Korolev of Russia 4-6, 6-3, 6-4.
PHOTO: AFP
Second-seeded Vince Spadea beat fellow US player Justin Gimelstob 6-4, 6-3 on Monday in the opening round of the Hall of Fame Tennis Championships.
Spadea, a 2005 Newport finalist, broke Gimelstob's serve in the final game of the first set. It's his sixth career appearance on the Hall of Fame's grass courts.
"I made a final here. I was up a break in the third set," he recalled of his loss to 2005 champion Greg Rusedski. "I feel like I'm owed something so I keep coming back."
In other opening-round play: Roko Karanusic ousted sixth-seeded Teimuraz Gabashvili 6-4, 6-3; No. 8 seed Michael Berrer beat Chris Guccione 6-4, 7-6 (5); Wesley Moodie edged Thiago Alves 6-3, 6-4; and Frank Dancevic cruised past Kevin Kim, 6-3, 6-3.
Kristof Vliegen of Belgium extended Gaston Gaudio's woeful season by ousting the former champion 6-4, 6-7 (3), 6-4 in the opening round of the Swiss Open on Monday.
Vliegen lost to Gaudio in the same round in straight sets four years ago in Gstaad, but Gaudio was no longer in the same form which would win him the French Open the following year, and the Swiss Open in 2005. A top-10 player then, the Argentine was ranked 103 now.
Gaudio, whose record fell to 6-13 for the year, had momentum when he won the second set tiebreaker, but an hour-long rain delay allowed Vliegen to refocus.
The loss marked Gaudio's earliest exit in seven appearances in Gstaad. Beside the 2005 title, he was also once a runner-up and twice a semi-finalist.
Former tennis world No. 1 Kim Clijsters is pregnant with her first child, Belgian sports Web site www.sport.be reported yesterday.
The Web site features a blog by Clijsters' father.
"If everything goes well, then Kim will become a mother next year and me a grandfather. Yippee," said Leo Clijsters, a former soccer star.
"Babysitting, changing pampers. All of which is no problem as long as I don't have to breastfeed," he said.
The 24-year-old tennis player, who had been blighted by injuries, quit in May to focus on her private life, including her forthcoming wedding to US basketball player Brian Lynch, but tennis fans had been eagerly awaiting a comeback.
After letting another big lead slip with an error-strewn performance at the French Open on Wednesday, top-ranked Aryna Sabalenka felt like getting as far away from the courts as possible. “Just want to quit tennis right now,” Sabalenka said after wasting a lead of a set and two breaks in a 3-6, 7-5, 6-0 loss to Diana Shnaider in the women’s singles quarter-finals. “We’ll see in few days. Hopefully I’ll get back on track mentally.” Sabalenka’s wait for a first French Open title continues despite the four-time major winner leading 4-1 in the second set and being two points from victory while
BIG NAMES GONE: Zverev is the clear favorite for a maiden Grand Slam title, reaching semi-finals for the fifth time in six years and finishing second on three occasions Alexander Zverev on Tuesday breezed past Rafael Jodar to stay on course for an elusive Grand Slam title at the French Open, while Jakub Mensik halted Joao Fonseca’s scintillating run in the quarter-finals. Zverev, the highest-ranked player left in the men’s draw, put an end to Spanish teenager Jodar’s impressive Roland Garros debut, easing into the semi-finals with a 7-6, (7/3), 6-1, 6-3 win. The 29-year-old Zverev is the clear favorite for a maiden Grand Slam title. He has finished runner-up on three occasions, including at the 2024 French Open. “I want to win the matches that are ahead of
For some, Cristiano Ronaldo remains the essential spearhead for Portugal’s FIFA World Cup bid, while others believe his presence would prevent Roberto Martinez’s strong side from flourishing. The debate around the five-time Ballon d’Or winner rages on, as it did at UEFA Euro 2024 and four years ago in Qatar — yet Ronaldo endures, ready to play in a record sixth World Cup. The 41-year-old remains a global superstar despite swapping the European elite for Saudi Arabia’s Al-Nassr, and is the leading men’s international goalscorer with 143 strikes. With 25 of those coming in 30 games under Martinez, the coach
Taiwanese sprinter Chen Yi-cen on Friday won the silver medal in the women’s 400m final at the Asian U20 Athletics Championships in Hong Kong, with a time of 53.16 seconds. Chen, 15, was the youngest among the eight finalists, and her performance also met the qualifying standard of 53.50 seconds for the Nagoya Asian Games in Japan in September and October. Chen first made her mark at the National Games in Tainan in 2023, at the age of 13, winning the women’s 400m final in 55.55 seconds to become the youngest gold medalist in the history of the event. Meanwhile,
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