Commonwealth Games and Asian Games tennis champion Somdev Devvarman of India broke serve three times to overcome local Raven Klaasen 6-4, 6-3 on Monday in a South African Open first-round clash.
German Simon Greul and South African Rik de Voest were other winners as the ATP event began with three predictable results at the sprawling Montecasino entertainment center in a plush northern Johannesburg suburb.
Devvarman, who struck Commonwealth gold in New Delhi in October and Asian gold in Guangzhou the following month, always had the measure of qualifier Klaasen.
The first service break gave the 25-year-old Indian the opening set before a modest crowd that watched the action in perfect conditions on a center court created in a car park.
Another break in the second set set up Devvarman for success and a Klaasen ace when 30-15 behind in the ninth game did not prevent his opponent breaking service again and clinching an 83-minute victory.
Stuttgart-based Greul, who turns 30 this year, is ranked 48 places higher than Brazilian Thiago Alves and it showed as he was seldom extended en route to a 6-2, 7-5 victory.
Closest duel of the opening day was the first with wildcard de Voest being taken to three sets by Italian Stefano Galvani before emerging a 6-3, 5-7, 7-6 (8/6) victor of a game that began in sunshine and ended under floodlights.
MOVIESTAR OPEN
AP, SANTIAGO
Defending champion Thomaz Bellucci of Brazil defeated Filippo Volandri of Italy 6-2, 6-2 in the first round on Monday at the Movistar Open, the first clay-court tournament of the ATP season.
Albert Ramos-Vinolas of Spain beat Argentina’s Leonardo Mayer 6-4, 6-4, Russian Igor Andreev downed Eduardo Schwank of Argentina 6-3, 7-6 (7/4), and Pablo Andujar of Spain defeated Australian Peter Luczak 6-4, 6-4.
In other first-round matches, Brazil’s Ricardo Mello won against Ruben Ramirez Hidalgo of Spain 6-4, 6-7 (5/7), 7-6 (8/6), and Spain’s Tommy Robredo defeated Frederico Gil of Portugal 2-6, 6-3, 6-4.
ZAGREB INDOORS
AP, ZAGREB
Fifth-seeded Florian Mayer struggled through to the second round of the Zagreb Indoors on Monday, overcoming Croatian wildcard Franco Skugor 6-3, 3-6, 7-6 (8/6).
Elsewhere, Ivan Dodig upset Marcel Granollers 6-3, 6-2, Michael Berrer beat Nikola Mektic 7-5, 6-1 and Lukas Lacko defeated Marsel Ilhan 4-6, 6-4, 7-5.
Aaliyah Edwards on Monday pulled off the stunner of the opening round of the Unrivaled one-on-one tournament, beating top-seeded Breanna Stewart 12-0. The tournament to be played over three days featured 23 of the WNBA’s 36 players. A few had other commitments and a couple others were out with injuries. Stewart got the ball first against Edwards and missed a contested layup. Edwards then hit a three-pointer from the corner and a jumper from the elbow to go up 5-0. The player who scores keeps the basketball. Edwards hit two layups and a three-pointer to seal the win. Stewart, a two-time WNBA Most Valuable Player,
The Philippines curling team has been rocking it in Harbin, claiming the tropical nation’s first Asian Winter Games medal yesterday with a victory in the men’s final against South Korea. The team of Marc Pfister, Alan Frei, Christian Haller, Enrico Pfister and alternate Benjo Delarmente took gold with a 5-3 win at Harbin Pingfang Curling Arena. The Philippines Olympic Committee was quick to celebrate with a post on Instagram to mark the historic gold. “This is the first-ever medal for the Philippines at the Asian Winter Games, and the highest achievement for a Southeast Asian athlete in the Games’ history! What an incredible
Taiwan’s Wu Fang-hsien on Tuesday dumped compatriot and second seed Hsieh Su-wei out of the women’s doubles at the Qatar Open to set up another potential Taiwanese showdown, while world No. 1 Aryna Sabalenka suffered a shock defeat in the second round. Wu and partner Jiang Xinyu, who earlier this year won the ASB Classic in Auckland and the Hobart International, defeated Hsieh and Jelena Ostapenko of Latvia 6-2, 6-7 (3/7), 10-5 in 1 hour, 29 minutes on Grandstand Court 3 at the Khalifa International Tennis and Squash Complex. Wu and Jiang on Sunday advanced to the round-of-16 with a 7-6 (7/7),
Eugenie Bouchard already has her own signature pickleball paddle. She is No. 17 in the pickleball rankings and constantly appears on the main court at events because she is always a big draw. However, just to be absolutely clear, she is not retired from tennis. The 2014 Wimbledon finalist still practices on the tennis court, still competes at tennis events and still has a Women’s Tennis Association ranking (No. 1,288). The Canadian standout just has a new sport that has caught her attention. Bouchard is one of several familiar tennis names — like Jack Sock and Donald Young — crossing over to