A monk’s good luck spell for Danai Udomchoke was not enough yesterday as the local hero crashed out of the Thailand Open second round in two sets to Germany’s Matthias Bachinger.
The Bangkok resident was knocked out 7-6 (7/5), 6-3, despite consulting with a Buddhist monk a week before what could prove to be his final appearance in the tournament as retirement looms for the 30-year-old.
Bachinger, ranked 98, left the spiritual to one side and drew on physical resources alone to deny the Thai his chance at a second ATP career quarter-final, after reaching the final eight in Beijing half a decade ago.
Udomchoke, world No. 217, admitted that while he appreciated any edge over his opponent he could get, his tennis fate had always been in his own hands.
“It takes more than that. The spell is something good for the mind, but it stills comes down to physical fitness and hard work,” said the player who has been dealing with a recent shoulder injury. “I’ve prepared really well for three weeks because this could be my last Thailand Open. I want to retire next year and don’t know if I can last the whole season [2012].”
Bachinger will face the winner of the match between Taiwan’s Lu Yen-Hsun and 2009 champion Gilles Simon of France, which was ongoing at press time.
Germany’s Tobias Kamke upset eighth seed Pablo Andujar with a 6-0, 6-1 thrashing of the No. 44 who was fresh from Bucharest where he played his third final of the season at the weekend, losing to Florian Mayer.
Kamke, ranked 103, next plays Japan’s Go Soeda, a comeback winner over Slovak Karol Beck 3-6, 7-6 (7/0), 7-6 (7/4).
Additional reporting by staff writer
MALAYSIAN OPEN
AFP, KUALA LUMPUR
Australian duo Bernard Tomic and Marinko Matosevic yesterday crashed out of the ATP Malaysian Open with straight sets losses, leaving their nation without a representative in the event. Three Australians have been eliminated at the first hurdle on the indoor court at Putra Stadium in Bukit Jalil.
Italy’s Flavio Cipolla dispatched Tomic 6-2, 6-2, while qualifier Matosevic fell to Denis Istomin of Uzbekistan 6-3, 6-2 in 72 minutes despite serving up six aces.
The defeat was a harsh blow to the teenaged Tomic, tipped as the future of the Australian game as Lleyton Hewitt, the 30-year-old crowd favorite, struggles to regain top form as chronic injuries begin to inhibit his game.
Since stirring passions with his Wimbledon quarter-final this summer, Tomic’s form has also dropped, with the Australian posting just four wins from 10 matches. He beat Stanislas Wawrinka to keep Australia alive in the Davis Cup promotion tie in Sydney this month, but lost in reverse singles to Roger Federer, as Switzerland eventually won the weekend in Sydney for a return to the World Group next year.
The 18-year-old Tomic, ranked 59th, met Cipolla, nearly a decade older, for the first time, with the loss pushing the Australian’s account for the season into the negative with 12 defeats against 11 wins. Cipolla set up a second-round clash with Serbian third seed Janko Tipsarevic. Istomin also drew a Serbian and next faces No. 2 Viktor Troicki.
Shohei Ohtani and Clayton Kershaw on Friday joined their Los Angeles Dodgers teammates in sticking their fists out to show off their glittering World Series rings at a ceremony. “There’s just a lot of excitement, probably more than I can ever recall with the Dodger fan base and our players,” manager Dave Roberts said before Los Angeles rallied to beat the Detroit Tigers 8-5 in 10 innings. “What a way to cap off the first two days of celebrations,” Roberts said afterward. “By far the best opening week I’ve ever experienced. I just couldn’t have scripted it any better.” A choir in the
After fleeing Sudan when civil war erupted, Al-Hilal captain Mohamed Abdelrahman and his teammates have defied the odds to reach the CAF Champions League quarter-finals. They are today to face title-holders Al-Ahly of Egypt in Cairo, with the return match in the Mauritanian capital, Nouakchott, on Tuesday next week. Al-Hilal and biggest domestic rivals Al-Merrikh relocated to Mauritania after a power struggle broke out in April 2023 between the Sudanese army and a paramilitary force. The civil war has claimed tens of thousands of lives and displaced more than 12 million people, according to the UN. The Democratic Republic of the Congo-born Al-Hilal
Shohei Ohtani, Teoscar Hernandez and Tommy Edman on Thursday smashed home runs to give the reigning World Series champions the Los Angeles Dodgers a 5-4 victory over Detroit on the MLB’s opening day in the US. The Dodgers, who won two season-opening games in Tokyo last week, raised their championship banner on a day when 28 clubs launched the season in the US. Dodgers manager Dave Roberts shuffled his batting lineup with all four leadoff hitters finally healthy as Ohtani was followed by Mookie Betts, then Hernandez and Freddie Freeman in the cleanup spot, switching places with Hernandez. “There’s a Teoscar tax to
Matvei Michkov did not score on Monday, but the Philadelphia rookie had a hand in both goals as hosts the Flyers earned a 2-1 victory over the Nashville Predators. Ryan Poehling and Jamie Drysdale got the goals for the Flyers (31-36-9, 71 points), who won their third straight. Michkov and Travis Konecny assisted on both. Ivan Fedotov stopped 28 shots to earn his first win since March 1, ending a personal six-game losing streak. Zachary L’Heureux got the lone goal for Nashville. Michael McCarron and Brady Skjei got the assists for the Predators (27-39-8, 62 points), who have just four goals in their
RSS