Svetlana Kuznetsova extended her run of poor results with a 6-2, 3-6, 6-4 loss to fellow Russian player Maria Kirilenko in the second round of the Italian Open on Monday.
The fifth-ranked Kuznetsova, who is a two-time runner-up at the Foro Italico, has not put together three consecutive wins since reaching the fourth round of the Australian Open in January.
In first-round action, Yanina Wickmayer overcame a mid-match lapse to beat Karolina Sprem of Croatia 6-3, 1-6, 6-4, Flavia Pennetta of Italy advanced past Akgul Amanmuradova of Uzbekistan 6-2, 6-3, Francesca Schiavone of Italy rallied to eliminate Slovakia’s Daniela Hantuchova 3-6, 6-2, 6-2 and Shahar Peer of Israel defeated wild card Corinna Dentoni of Italy, 6-2, 6-1.
PHOTO: EPA
Former French Open winner, Ana Ivanovic, rolled to a 6-1, 6-3 win over Elena Vesnina.
Ivanovic’s ranking has slipped from No. 1 to No. 58 and she recently hired Steffi Graf’s old coach, Heinz Gunthardt.
Bethanie Mattek-Sands beat compatriot Melanie Oudin 6-1, 6-3.
The 31st-ranked Oudin struggled with her serve, holding only three times and winning just 46 percent of the points with her first serve to Mattek-Sands’ 81 percent.
Mattek-Sands improved to 3-0 in her career against Oudin.
■ESTORIL OPEN
AP, OEIRAS, PORTUGAL
Alejandro Falla of Colombia beat seventh-seeded Juan Ignacio Chela at the Estoril Open on Monday, claiming their first-round match 6-4, 7-6 (4).
Marcel Granollers beat fellow Spaniard Oscar Hernandez 6-2, 6-1, and Arnaud Clement of France overcame Igor Kunitsyn of Russia, 7-5, 4-6, 6-4.
Local player Leonardo Tavares won 6-3, 6-3 against Brazilian Ricardo Mello.
There were several upsets in the women’s event, as Anastasija Sevastova recovered from a set down to eliminate top-seeded Agnes Szavay 3-6, 6-3, 6-3 and Julia Goerges of Germany routed third-seeded Canadian Aleksandra Wozniak 6-1, 6-1. Seventh-seed Peng Shuai did advance by beating Julie Coin 6-2, 6-2, and Japan’s Kimiko Date Krumm ousted Petra Martic of Croatia 6-7 (4), 7-5, 7-6 (2).
Former world No. 2 Paula Badosa has withdrawn from this week’s Wuhan Open, organizers said on Tuesday, amid a racism row over an online photograph. Tournament organizers said the Spaniard had pulled out of the WTA 1000 tournament, citing a gastrointestinal illness, hours before her first-round match against Australian Ajla Tomljanovic. News outlets including Britain’s the Telegraph earlier reported that Badosa had posted a photo on Instagram in which she appeared to imitate a Chinese face by placing chopsticks on the corners of her eyes. The photo was taken last week in a restaurant in Beijing, where she reached the semi-finals of the
More than 180 years of horse racing came to an end in Singapore on Saturday, as the Singapore Turf Club hosted its final race day before its track is handed back to the Singaporean government to provide land for new homes. Under an overcast sky, the air-conditioned VIP boxes were full of enthusiasts, socialites and expats, while the grounds and betting halls below hosted mostly older-generation punters. The sun broke through for the last race, the last-ever Grand Singapore Gold Cup. The winner, South African jockey Muzi Yeni, echoed a feeling of loss shared by many on the day. “I’d
PREDICTION: Last week, when Yu’s father made a wrong turn to the former champions’ parking lot, he said that his son could park there after this year With back-to-back birdies on the 18th hole, Kevin Yu fulfilled his driving range-owning dad’s prediction that he would win the Sanderson Farms Championship and become Taiwan’s third golfer to claim a US PGA Tour title. The Taoyuan-born 26-year-old, who represented Taiwan in the Olympic golf at Paris, saw off Californian Beau Hossler in a playoff at the Country Club of Jackson, Mississippi, on Sunday. Having drained a 15-foot putt to claw his way into the playoff, Yu rolled in from five feet on the first extra hole, ensuring he joined Chen Tze-chung (LA Open in 1987) and Pan Cheng-tsung (RBC
LeBron James and eldest son Bronny James claimed a piece of NBA history on Sunday after making their long-awaited first appearance alongside each other for the Los Angeles Lakers. The duo appeared together at the start of the second quarter in the Lakers’ 118-114 preseason defeat to the Phoenix Suns in Palm Desert, east of Los Angeles. While LeBron James impressed with 19 points in just 16 minutes and 20 seconds on court before sitting out the second half, Bronny found the going harder with zero points in just over 13 minutes on court. The younger James attempted just one
RSS