Last year’s runner-up Philipp Kohlschreiber cruised past qualifier Thomas Fabbiano of Italy 6-4, 6-3 to reach the second round at the Open de Moselle on Tuesday.
The sixth-seeded Kohlschreiber didn’t face a single break point and broke Fabbiano three times to end the 21-year-old Italian player’s hopes of claiming his maiden Tour win.
Eighth-seeded Gilles Simon of France won his first match in five attempts at the indoor tournament with a comfortable 6-3, 6-4 win over Jamaican Dustin Brown.
Simon, who took part in France’s 5-0 thrashing of Argentina in the Davis Cup semi-final over the weekend, won 23 of 24 points played on his first serve and converted two of his 11 break points.
“It was a good match, I went through pretty easily and felt really good on the court,” Simon said. “I was able to read his serve and break him early in the match which made it comfortable for me. I had never won a main draw match here in Metz so I am definitely happy about being through today.”
Jarkko Nieminen of Finland and Xavier Malisse of Belgium also advanced with straight-sets wins.
Nieminen beat Benjamin Becker of Germany 6-3, 7-6 (2) and Malisse downed French qualifier Edouard Roger-Vasselin 7-6 (3), 6-4.
Nieminen will next face either Kristof Vliegen of Belgium or Federico Del Bonis, the Argentine who replaced the injured Michael Llodra in the draw.
Organizers said Llodra withdrew from the tournament after picking up a calf injury while on Davis Cup duty for France.
Defending champions Jannik Sinner and Aryna Sabalenka on Wednesday led the way into the Cincinnati Open quarter-finals, with Carlos Alcaraz hot on their heels after a straight-sets victory of his own. Sinner shrugged off a mid-match weather delay lasting nearly three hours as he advanced 6-4, 7-6 (7/4) over Adrian Mannarino. Alcaraz, the second seed who has reached the final in his past six tournaments, hammered Italian lucky loser Luca Nardi 6-1, 6-4. After sweeping the opening set in 28 minutes, Alcaraz hit a speed bump, dropping his serve to trail 2-4. He promptly regained the break, then fought through a marathon ninth game
Taiwan’s men’s basketball team on Monday clinched a spot in the FIBA Asia Cup quarter-finals with a 78-64 win over Jordan in Saudi Arabia, securing their best finish in the tournament since placing fourth in 2013. The win was sweet revenge for Taiwan, who were denied a quarter-final spot by Jordan at the same stage of the previous Asia Cup in 2022 after blowing a nine-point lead in the final minute and losing 97-96 on a half-court buzzer-beater. “History is part of the journey,” Taiwan head coach Gianluca Tucci said when asked about the 2022 collapse of the team, who he did
STUMBLE: World No. 2 Coco Gauff confidently won her first set against seventh-seed Italian Jasmine Paolini before being overcome in the second and third sets World No. 1 Aryna Sabalenka and second-ranked Coco Gauff were sent crashing out of the ATP-WTA Cincinnati Open on Friday, while Carlos Alcaraz fought off a fierce challenge from Andrey Rublev to reach the semi-finals. Top seed and defending champion Sabalenka had no answer for Elena Rybakina, falling to the 2022 Wimbledon champion 6-1, 6-4. Reigning French Open champion Gauff had 16 double faults in a 2-6, 6-4, 6-3 exit at the hands of seventh-seeded Italian Jasmine Paolini. Spain’s second-ranked Alcaraz had his difficulties, but he broke Rublev in the final game of a tense duel to emerge a 6-3, 4-6, 7-5 winner
Taiwan’s national basketball team on Wednesday suffered a heartbreaking loss, ending their FIBA Asia Cup run after Iran staged a dramatic comeback to secure a 78-75 victory in the quarter-finals at King Abdullah Sports City in Saudi Arabia. Taiwan were in front for 38 minutes, 30 seconds of the 40-minute game. Iran only took the lead in the final minute, but it was enough to knock Taiwan out of the tournament. With the win, Iran advanced to tomorrow’s semi-finals, when they face Australia. The loss ended a promising campaign for Taiwan, who had been aiming for their first semi-final appearance since the 2013 FIBA
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