On a day when only three seeds were in action, Taiwan’s Lu Yen-hsun was defeated by Australian teenager Bernard Tomic 7-6 (7/5), 6-3 in the first round of the Rogers Cup on Monday.
Tomic will face France’s Jo-Wilfried Tsonga, seeded 13th, who survived a couple of wobbles before knocking out Italian Fabio Fognini 6-4, 7-6 (7/0).
Juan Martin Del Potro stormed to a 6-4, 6-0 win over Finland’s Jarkko Nieminen as the Argentine continues his impressive comeback with the US Open on the horizon.
Photo: AFP
Del Potro, the 2009 US Open champion, is on the comeback trail after missing eight months of last season recovering from wrist surgery.
The 22-year-old opened the season with second round losses in Sydney, but has been in red-hot form since, posting a 34-7 record that included wins at Delray Beach and Estoril.
Meanwhile, Roger Federer turned 30 on Monday, but it was fellow Swiss Stanislas Wawrinka who gave himself a present as he outclassed David Nalbandian 6-1, 6-4 to reach the second round.
Wawrinka, who won the 2008 Olympic doubles gold medal alongside Federer, said that while he would not go so far as to give Federer a present, he has the utmost respect for his compatriot as a player and a friend.
Latvia’s Ernests Gulbis, riding the momentum from his hard court win in Los Angeles, rallied past former world No. 1 Juan Carlos Ferrero of Spain 3-6, 6-1, 7-5.
Novak Djokovic, Rafael Nadal, Federer and Andy Murray, looking to win the title for a third successive time, were to return to action yesterday for the first time since Wimbledon.
WOMEN’S SINGLES
AFP, TORONTO
Qualifier Galina Voskoboeva upset France’s Marion Bartoli 6-3, 6-3 to reach the second round of the -Rogers Cup on Monday.
Kazakhstan’s Voskoboeva, currently ranked 135th in the world after reaching a career high of 64th in February of 2009, arrived in Toronto after reaching the first semi-final of her career at Baku last month.
Bartoli, ranked ninth in the world and seeded ninth, had -trouble with her serve and double-faulted four times. However, she said her serve was just one of her problems.
Romanian qualifier Simona Halep pulled off another upset, rallying to defeat 12th-seeded Russian Svetlana Kuznetsova 4-6, 6-4, 6-3.
Kuznetsova, ranked 15th in the world, had 50 unforced errors.
Tenth-seeded Samantha Stosur of Australia, who dropped out of the top 10 on Monday for the first time since April last year, advanced with a 4-6, 6-2, 6-3 victory over Ayumi Morita of Japan.
The top-eight seeds at this US Open tuneup have first-round byes.
The former interpreter for baseball star Shohei Ohtani on Thursday was sentenced to nearly five years in prison for bank and tax fraud after he stole nearly US$17 million from the Los Angeles Dodgers player’s bank account. Ippei Mizuhara, who was supposed to bridge the gap between the Japanese athlete and his English-speaking teammates and fans, was sentenced in federal court in Santa Ana to four years and nine months after pleading guilty last year. He was ordered to pay US$18 million in restitution, with nearly US$17 million going to Ohtani and the remainder to the US Internal Revenue Service. He was
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,
SPEEDSKATER: Her bronze medal ended Taiwan’s run at the Asian Winter Games without a medal since the nation first participated in the second iteration in 1990 Speedskater Chen Ying-chu yesterday made history as the first athlete representing Taiwan to secure a medal at the Asian Winter Games. Competing at the HIC Speedskating Oval in Harbin, China, Chen clocked 10.510 seconds in the women’s 100m event, finishing third behind South Koreans Lee Na-hyum and Kim Min-sun, who posted times of 10.501 and 10.505 seconds respectively. Her bronze medal ended Taiwan’s drought at the Asian Winter Games since the nation first participated in the second iteration in 1990. This year’s Games mark Chen’s debut at the event. Previously excelling in roller speedskating, she won six medals at world championships before transitioning
The 40-year-old LeBron James on Thursday became the oldest player to score 40 points in an NBA game, putting up a season-high 42 in the Los Angeles Lakers’ 120-112 victory over the Golden State Warriors. James passed the record held by Michael Jordan, his idol and the only other NBA player to score 40 after his 40th birthday. “I’m old, that’s my take,” James said when asked about his latest achievement. “I need a glass of wine and some sleep, that’s what I think.” Jordan did it for the Washington Wizards just three days after turning 40 in February 2003. James is 38