Jurgen Melzer beat Leonardo Mayer of Argentina 6-4, 6-2 after a five-hour rain delay on Thursday to reach the quarter-finals of the Austrian Open.
The sixth-seeded Austrian won 94 percent of the points on his first serve and converted three of four break points.
Melzer will next play either second-seeded Rainer Schuettler of Germany or Jan Hernych of the Czech Republic. Their match was suspended when rain started again in the final set with Hernych leading 6-2, 4-6, 3-2. It was scheduled to be finished yesterday.
PHOTO: AP
Two remaining second-round matches were also suspended and rescheduled for Friday — seventh-seeded Juan Martin Del Potro led Sergio Roitman 6-2, 2-2, and Nicolas Devilder was leading Alexander Peya 6-4, 4-2.
■BANK OF WEST
AP, STANFORD, California
Patty Schnyder beat Alisa Kleybanova on Thursday to set up a quarter-final match against Serena Williams at the Bank of West Classic.
The fifth-seeded Schnyder of Switzerland used a mix of power and finesse to get by the inconsistent Kleybanova 7-6 (8), 6-4 in the second round.
“She was trying to dictate everything, whether winners or errors. ... I think she was so dominant it was tough for me to play,” Schnyder said. “I had to mix it up a lot. It was her game plan to hit a lot of winners and also accept some errors.”
Next up was to be a quarter-final yesterday against Williams, who was eager to play better tennis after rallying from a set down to beat 15-year-old Michelle Larcher de Brito of Portugal 4-6, 6-3, 6-2 on Wednesday night in her opening match.
Williams has won seven of their previous 10 meetings, though Schnyder has taken two of the past three.
“It feels strange already the quarters,” Schnyder said. “I like playing her. Obviously she’s a great champion. Still, with her game, somehow I have found some ways to beat her in previous matches. She’s the favorite and she does [well on] hard court. It’s going to very tough.”
Sixth-seeded Marion Bartoli of France advanced after being down two breaks in the third set of a 6-3, 1-6, 6-5 win over England’s Anne Keothavong.
“From one double break down it was almost the end for me. I decided I was going to win this match whatever it takes,” Bartoli said. “She was playing so well from the baseline and was hardly missing one ball. ... It was hard to do it, but I was able to get those winners.”
Bartoli, last year’s Wimbledon finalist, advances to face second-seeded Anna Chakvetadze of Russia in the quarter-finals.
A surprise quarter-finalist is Samantha Stosur, who upset third-seeded Vera Zvonareva 6-3, 6-2 in Thursday’s late match.
Stosur only earned her spot in the main draw when Lindsay Davenport was forced to withdraw because of a knee injury.
Stosur next plays Canadian qualifier Aleksandra Wozniak, who beat her in the qualifying draw.
“It’s a good opportunity for me to redeem myself,” Stosur said.
For the 24-year-old Stosur, ranked No.107, this run is quite meaningful considering she returned in April after being sidelined since last September with Lyme disease. Her body is holding up just fine and she’s on her best surface, hardcourts.
“I guess I’ve really made the most of my opportunity getting in — a bit of luck, find some form,” Stosur said.
■CROATIA OPEN
AP, UMAG, Croatia
Fifth-seeded Ivan Ljubicic withdrew from the second round of the Croatia Open on Thursday because of back problems, enabling fellow Croat Roko Karanusic to reach his first ATP quarter-finals.
Karanusic will play Argentine Maximo Gonzales, who upset second-seeded Ivo Karlovic, 3-6, 6-3, 6-4, to also reach the first ATP quarter-finals of his career.
Guillermo Canas, seeded sixth, also advanced to the quarter-finals, defeating Boris Pashanski of Serbia 6-7 (3), 6-3, 7-5. The Argentine will take on fourth-seeded Igor Andreev of Russia, who beat Daniel Gimeno-Traver of Spain, 6-2, 7-6 (3).
Gonzales, ranked 101st in the world, previously had only one victory at a major tournament — against Karanusic in the first round of Roland Garros.
Karlovic, also a Croat, led 6-3 in the first set and had two break points — at 1-1 and 2-2 — in the second set, but Gonzales then began to dominate.
Shohei Ohtani and Clayton Kershaw on Friday joined their Los Angeles Dodgers teammates in sticking their fists out to show off their glittering World Series rings at a ceremony. “There’s just a lot of excitement, probably more than I can ever recall with the Dodger fan base and our players,” manager Dave Roberts said before Los Angeles rallied to beat the Detroit Tigers 8-5 in 10 innings. “What a way to cap off the first two days of celebrations,” Roberts said afterward. “By far the best opening week I’ve ever experienced. I just couldn’t have scripted it any better.” A choir in the
After fleeing Sudan when civil war erupted, Al-Hilal captain Mohamed Abdelrahman and his teammates have defied the odds to reach the CAF Champions League quarter-finals. They are today to face title-holders Al-Ahly of Egypt in Cairo, with the return match in the Mauritanian capital, Nouakchott, on Tuesday next week. Al-Hilal and biggest domestic rivals Al-Merrikh relocated to Mauritania after a power struggle broke out in April 2023 between the Sudanese army and a paramilitary force. The civil war has claimed tens of thousands of lives and displaced more than 12 million people, according to the UN. The Democratic Republic of the Congo-born Al-Hilal
Shohei Ohtani, Teoscar Hernandez and Tommy Edman on Thursday smashed home runs to give the reigning World Series champions the Los Angeles Dodgers a 5-4 victory over Detroit on the MLB’s opening day in the US. The Dodgers, who won two season-opening games in Tokyo last week, raised their championship banner on a day when 28 clubs launched the season in the US. Dodgers manager Dave Roberts shuffled his batting lineup with all four leadoff hitters finally healthy as Ohtani was followed by Mookie Betts, then Hernandez and Freddie Freeman in the cleanup spot, switching places with Hernandez. “There’s a Teoscar tax to
Matvei Michkov did not score on Monday, but the Philadelphia rookie had a hand in both goals as hosts the Flyers earned a 2-1 victory over the Nashville Predators. Ryan Poehling and Jamie Drysdale got the goals for the Flyers (31-36-9, 71 points), who won their third straight. Michkov and Travis Konecny assisted on both. Ivan Fedotov stopped 28 shots to earn his first win since March 1, ending a personal six-game losing streak. Zachary L’Heureux got the lone goal for Nashville. Michael McCarron and Brady Skjei got the assists for the Predators (27-39-8, 62 points), who have just four goals in their