Defending champion Andy Roddick made a shock early exit from the Sony Ericsson Open on Saturday, suffering a second-round loss to Uruguayan Pablo Cuevas 6-4, 7-6.
The world No. 8, who struggled physically and needed medical treatment during the second set, said he was likely suffering from a lingering bronchial infection.
“I had a little trouble breathing out there today. I’ve had something for a little while, but I’m going to have it checked out when I get home,” the American told reporters.
Photo: AFP
Roddick was broken in the seventh game as 67th-ranked Cuevas took charge, and although he battled on in a tight second set, he looked sluggish and bowed out in the tie-break with consecutive forehand errors.
“I’m just frustrated. You don’t like going out there with less than what you have got and I feel like I have been doing that a lot,” he said. “It’s not like I’m super mad because I had chances or lost, or didn’t play. It’s just frustrating.”
The win was the first for Cuevas against a top-10 ranked player and it left the tournament without another drawcard after Britain’s Andy Murray was defeated by US qualifier Alex Bogomolov on Friday.
World No. 1 Rafael Nadal had no such problems, however, and was satisfied with his 6-4, 6-4 win over Kei Nishikori of Japan.
Leading 2-1 in the first set, Nishikori failed to convert on two break opportunities and Nadal promptly broke the Japanese player in the ensuing game. In the eighth game, Nishikori again failed to convert on two break points.
Nadal broke Nishikori in the opening game of the second set and held serve to close out the match.
Third-seed Roger Federer also advanced, enjoying a routine 6-3, 6-3 win over Czech Radek Stepanek earlier on Saturday.
The victory took Federer alongside Pete Sampras with 762 career wins, equaling seventh overall. Jimmy Connors tops the list with 1,241 wins.
Meanwhile, Taiwanese star Lu Yen-hsun saw an early season slump continue yesterday when he lost to world No. 14 Mikhail Youzhny of Russia 6-0, 6-1 in the second round.
Ranked No. 43 in the world, Lu has not made it past the second round in any ATP Tour tournament he has played this year.
Lu last played Youzhny in January in a highly publicized exhibition series in Taiwan that also featured tennis great Andre Agassi of the US and Marat Safin of Russia.
However, he was no match for his familiar foe in Miami, having trouble with both his return and his service game. Lu had five double faults and managed to win only eight points on his returns. He is now 0-2 in career head-to-head matchups against Youzhny.
After making an impressive run to the final eight at Wimbledon last year, Lu has managed to win only three singles matches this season — over Lleyton Hewitt of Australia at India Wells, a first-round win over Pere Riba of Spain in Florida and a Davis Cup win over Gong Maoxin of China in Shanghai.
The 27-year-old will next pair up with German partner Florian Mayer to go up against Xavier Malisse of Belgium and Britain’s Jamie Murray in the men’s doubles first round.
In women’s doubles, Chan Yung-jan of Taiwan and Zheng Jie of China lost to India’s Sania Mirza and Elena Vesnina of Russia 6-2, 4-6 (10-7) in the first round.
With compatriot Chuang Chia-jung and Anatasia Rodionova of Australia also bowing out in the women’s doubles first round, Hsieh Su-wei, who teamed up with Romanian Monica Niculescu for a 6-3, 7-6 opening round victory, is the only female Taiwanese player left in the tournament.
Soccer officials yesterday offered “full support and assistance” to the Iranian team in Australia for the AFC Women’s Asian Cup after the US and Israel launched massive attacks on their homeland. Iran’s 26-strong squad arrived on the Gold Coast days before the strikes on Saturday killed supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, as Washington and Tel Aviv seek to topple the Islamic republic. They are due to open their tournament today against South Korea. The AFC in a statement said it “continues to closely monitor the recent developments in the Middle East during this challenging period.” “The AFC’s foremost priority remains the welfare, safety and
EVERY DAY A VICTORY: Players on the women’s team faced pressure from society just getting out onto the field as they prepare for their first Women’s Asian Cup game today Bangladesh’s national soccer team face daunting odds at their first-ever Women’s Asian Cup, but have already scored a major victory by qualifying. In the South Asian nation of 170 million, social stigma, family expectations, poverty and religious hardliners have long relegated women and girls to sports sidelines. The first women’s soccer league matches took place in 2011 and the squad, known to fans as the Red and Green, have kept pressing forward despite deeply embedded prejudices. “Many more girls would have joined us if the community had been even slightly supportive,” captain Afeida Khandaker told AFP ahead of her side’s March 3
ROAD RASH: Marc Marquez retired after a crash, marking the first time after 88 consecutive races stretching back to 2021 that a Ducati bike failed to make the podium Marco Bezzecchi yesterday won the MotoGP season-opening grand prix in Thailand from pole position as defending world champion Marc Marquez retired late with a buckled wheel. Aprilia’s Bezzecchi led from start to finish to top the podium in Buriram, with KTM’s Pedro Acosta second and Trackhouse’s Raul Fernandez third. Ducati’s Marquez is chasing a record-equaling eighth world title this season, but he exited the race in dramatic fashion while in fourth place with five laps to go. The Spaniard, who started from second on the grid, took a corner wide, with the jolt to his bike dislodging the rear tire, badly damaging his
Liverpool on Tuesday suffered an embarrassing 2-1 defeat at Wolverhampton Wanderers as Andre’s stoppage-time strike sealed a dramatic victory for the English Premier League’s bottom club. Arne Slot’s side fell behind to Rodrigo Gomes’ strike in the closing stages at Molineux. Mohamed Salah hauled Liverpool level with his first goal in 11 top-flight games dating back to November last year. However, Andre’s first goal for Wolves inflicted the latest humbling loss in a chastening season for Liverpool. It was the first time the Premier League’s bottom club had beaten the reigning champions since Crystal Palace defeated Chelsea in 2017. Liverpool
RSS